Slow Burning Lights
by A Lovestruck A2
Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality. Rated T for now, will be bumped up to M later (M/F/M)
1. An Ending, A Beginning

_**A/N: Hello all, and welcome to the very first chapter of my first Pokémon fanfiction. I've adored the games as a child, and now as an adult I'm finally taking the time to write my own story for this franchise. But first, here's some information ahead of time that will help you understand the story I want to tell.**_

 _ **This is OC-centric with my cast of three original characters, all of whom have different designs/party set ups. This was inspired by the Pokémon Journey series by an author I personally like, Talarc. So, thanks you for being an inspiration if you're bothering to read this.**_

 _ **This story will cover three regions I am most familiar with: Kanto, Sinnoh, and Unova.**_

 _ **The 'rivalry' will be friendly, just for bragging rights and the occasional little jab.**_

 _ **I have decided on a love triangle between the three protagonists to make an appearance later on, hence the current rating at T (M/F/M)**_

 _ **With all that that out of the way, let's get started!**_

 **Slow Burning Lights**

 _Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality._

 ***An Ending, A Beginning***

 _April 6_ _th_ _, 2015_

 _Pallet Town, 12:30 pm_

Alana Ehler, Alex Stewart, and Syaoron Miyu were all sitting in Alana's bedroom of her family's two-story house, all three of them eagerly awaiting for Professor Oak to show up. For today was finally the day the three would each be given a pokémon of their own.

"So, how does it feel to finally be 15 and be allowed to join us?" Alex asked teasingly, running a hand through his silky light blond hair and slouching in the chair by Alana's desk. He was by far the oddball of their trio, with a smooth English accent and a pair of different colored eyes. He had the rare condition of heterochromia iridum, and as a child he was rejected by many for being a 'freak'. But as he grew older, he stopped caring less and less about his condition.

Syaoron quietly adjusted the wide red brim of the hat he wore to cover his messy chocolate brown hair, his amber gaze unblinking as he stared down at the carpeted floor below. The tall Japanese brunet was the strong silent type, very rarely talking to people unless he was close with them. To those who knew him, he was a respectable young man who valued honesty and loyalty above all else. Otherwise, people thought he was that typical quiet kid who didn't go out of his way to start trouble but wouldn't hesitate to drop someone who messed with any of his friends.

"It feels nice, smartass," Alana answered with a roll of her dark blue eyes. Her blonde hair had blue streaks in it, and she buttoned the top button of her red flannel shirt while she bounced slightly on her bed. The only girl of their trio, it was a little hard for her to feel as though she actually fit in at first. She wasn't what one would call a complete girly-girl. But her lovable charm worked its way into their hearts and minds.

"I bet you can't wait to meet the professor, eh?" Alex grinned. "Syao and I were taking bets on what kind of pokémon you'd pick. My money's on a charmander, and he thinks you'll go for a bulbasaur."

"Technically, I never said what she'd pick," Syaoron corrected quietly. "He just recited crap out of the books in the living room, like how a charmander is the tougher pokémon for most trainers to command and bulbasaur is easier."

Alana gave a quiver of excitement. The thought of having her own pokémon to train was far too exciting, and she wanted to bounce with joy. _'My own pokémon. It is really happening.'_

If she was honest, Alex was probably right; she had read a few books about the three main pokémon new trainers in Kanto typically chose from, and a charmander did appeal to her the most. _'Dammit. He's right. Why is he always right about this kind of stuff?'_

She ran a hand through her blonde and blue hair, her eyes scrunched up. "Alex?"

"Hmm?"

"You suck."

"And the sky is blue." Syaoron chuckled quietly. He stood up, stretching his tall frame and cracking his neck. "We already know that he's an ass, but he's _our_ ass."

"Thank you for referring me as a part of your wonderful anatomy," the British blond said with a smile. "It's truly flattering. I must commend you."

The three shared a laugh, and Alana's heart leapt into her throat when a loud knock sounded on her bedroom door followed by an old male voice. "Hello? It's me, Professor Oak. I'm here to give you all your pokémon."

' _He's here!'_ Alana opened the door, bowing her head politely to the older man. "Hello, professor. It's nice to meet you."

Professor Oak appeared to be in his late fifties, with short gray hair and some wrinkles on his face. He wore a long white lab coat, carried three pokéballs on his belt each containing a single pokémon, and he gave the three a friendly smile as he stepped into Alana's bedroom with one hand out. "Hello, Alana. I'm sure all of you know who I am; I'm Professor Oak, the pokémon professor here in Kanto. Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet ya, professor," Alex replied cheerfully, shaking the professor's extended hand. "I'm Alex."

"Syaoron," Syaoron murmured, also shaking Oak's hand.

"It's a pleasure," Professor Oak said with a smile. He pulled the three red and white capsules from his belt, setting them down on the table. "Three pokémon await you in these three pokéballs. The right contains a squirtle, a water type. The one in the middle, the grass type bulbasaur. And on the left, the fire type charmander. Please, go ahead and make your choice."

Syaoron stepped forward first, looking at the pokéballs with a curious glint in his eyes. He eventually looked at the ball containing the squirtle, and he picked it up. "..I'll choose this one."

"Aha! The squirtle! An excellent choice!" Professor Oak laughed. "It's a very energetic pokémon."

Alana was next, and she made a beeline for the ball on the left. "I'll take the charmander."

"Ohoho," Professor Oak murmured, his eyes glinting with reconciliation. "I recall choosing that one too. A word of warning: charmanders are known for being very difficult to raise properly. Do be cautious when you train it; the last thing you want is for one of these to get out of control."

"Heh, I guess I get the bulbasaur," Alex said with a grin, picking the ball up and tossing it into the air. "More importantly, you owe me lunch now, Syao."

The tall brunet let out an exasperated sigh, raising his hand to gently rap the blond boy on the head. "Moron…"

"Well, you seemed to all agree on your pokémon. Would you like to give them a nickname?" Professor Oak asked, sliding his hands into his long coat.

"Nah."

"No thank you..."

"Not at all."

"I figured I'd ask," Oak said. "Some trainers like to give them a name to make them more personal, but not all. Now, I imagine I'm correct in assuming that you all want to see what each pokémon can do?"

Three simultaneous nods answered him.

"Well, why don't we take it outside?" Professor Oak offered. "Even pokémon as small as these ones can demolish one's bedroom."

"Is that a personal experience of yours, Professor?" Alana asked, following him down the stairs of her house with Alex and Syaoron in tow.

"Yes. Ah, but that was so long ago, in my faraway youth," the professor sighed wistfully, his eyes getting a little misty. "Quite a fond memory. My rival and I decided to do battle in her bedroom, and both of our pokémon ended up wrecking it. Her mother wasn't too happy with us, if I remember correctly."

Outside, Alana shielded her eyes; the sun's rays shone brilliantly without a single cloud in sight to obstruct it, and the blonde girl instantly started to regret wearing her favorite pair of black skinny jeans once she felt herself start to sweat. "Ahh…it's too hot." It was only the beginning of April, and yet it seemed as though spring had come early.

A flock of pidgey flew overhead, and Syaoron reached for his pokéball. "…I'll go first…"

He tossed it into the air, and the squirtle appeared in a red flash. It blinked its eyes open and looked up at the tall brunette with a soft cry, running over and latching onto his leg affectionately. Syaoron gave a small smile, and he crouched down to give it a gentle pat on the head with his amber gaze warm. "Hey, Squirtle…you and I are going to get really well acquainted."

"Aw, look how adorable you two are." Alana giggled. "Who would've thought you would be that cute?" _'It's like it is his little brother. I don't think I can handle that kind of cuteness, and from_ him _of all people.'_

Syaoron sighed, not even bothering to say he wasn't any of those things and gesturing to her pokéball. "…you gonna bring yours out for our first battle?"

"You bet! Let's go, Charmander!" Alana threw her ball, and the small fire lizard appeared in the same manner. It was orange, with tiny sharp claws and small flame on the end of its tail. Charmander looked at her, growling softly, and Alana crouched to give it a hug. "Aww! So cute!"

"Be careful," Professor Oak warned. "The flame on the end of your charmander's tail is vital to its existence. If it were to go out…well, I'd prefer to not think of what would happen. Now, are you two prepared for your first battle?"

Both contestants nodded, and the professor gave the signal to start. "Ready! Go!"

"Squirtle, use Tail Whip!"

"Charmander, Growl!"

Syaoron's Squirtle wagged its tail while Charmander gave a soft growl to intimidate it, and Professor Oak started to smile. "Looks like both of you are going for the strategic approach! I like it! Lowering your opponent's stats will give you an edge!"

"Squirtle, Tackle!"

Charmander, use Scratch!"

Both small pokémon flung themselves at the other. Charmander's sharp claws raked down Squirtle's side, and the water type yelped as it tackled the lizard to the ground. Both pokémon fell over, and they were on their feet in a hurry.

"Hit it again!"

"Dodge it!"

Squirtle charged again, but its Tackle attack missed; Charmander danced out of the way at the last moment and gave it another scratch.

Syaoron stroked the brim of his hat, brow furrowed in concentration, and he pursed his lips. "…Tail Whip."

"Scratch!"

Squirtle wagged its tail again, and this time Charmander's Scratch attack missed, leaving it open for a possible attack. _'Ah…crap.'_

"Now. Tackle!"

"Growl!"

Charmander managed to get out a growl, but it still took Squirtle's attack full force and fell over. It got to its feet, glowing orange.

"Curious. Charmander's Blaze ability is now active," Professor Oak murmured, stroking his chin. Squirtle was also beginning to glow, and his eyebrows rose into his hair while he stroked his chin. "And Squirtle's Torrent ability is active, too. This is one interesting battle."

Charmander blew out a small burst of flames, and Squirtle countered with a stream of bubbles. Both attacks hit their target and the two pokémon each wobbled a little before falling over in exhaustion, now unable to battle.

"Would you look at that!?" The professor chuckled. "Not only did each of your pokémon activate their respective abilities, but they also learned a new move! Charmander has learned Ember, and Squirtle can now use Bubble! I'm very impressed with both of you. The battle is a draw!"

He pulled out two small diamond-shaped medicines, called revives, from his coat and restored both pokémon to full health. "Now, would you like to see what Bulbasaur is capable of, Alex?"

The British blond shook his head, gesturing down with a smile. "I don't think that's happening. She's already found a snack." Alana, Syaoron, and Professor Oak looked down, and there was Bulbasaur happily munching on the laces of Alex's shoes. The grass type looked at them, cried out softly, and went back to chewing on the lace.

"Um, professor, what does she like to eat, if you don't mind me asking? As cute as this is, I'd prefer it if I managed to keep my shoelaces intact," Alex said with a laugh. "And I doubt these really taste all that good."

Professor Oak pursed his lips, stroking his chin. "Hmm…with its naïve nature, I believe it prefers sweet food the most. Alana, your charmander seems to be very proud of its power judging by the way it stubbornly threw itself into battle even with a type disadvantage. I'd recommend giving it spicy food. Syaoron, your squirtle seems rather jolly. I wager it would happily eat anything you gave it."

He patted his coat's pockets, a real old man gesture, and frowned. "Hm. It would appear that in my haste to deliver you your pokémon, I neglected to bring some supplies with me. Drat. If you don't mind, would you be so kind as to accompany me to my laboratory? I have all the necessary supplies there."

"Just one moment. Sorry girl, but I'm afraid it is time to go back in your ball. " Alex looked down, and he pressed the button on the pokéball to recall his bulbasaur. Bulbasaur disappeared in a red flash, and he fitted it to the black leather belt looped around his jeans. "I think she likes me."

"A female showing signs of affection to you? That's a first," Syaoron muttered with a smirk. The playful jab brought out several snickers from Alana, and Alex responded with a gentle thump on the brunette's shoulder.

"You three are rather old for beginner trainers," the professor noted, looking at the trio of friends. "May I ask why you've waited so long? Most trainers start at age ten."

Alana lowered her head in embarrassment. "Well, sir…it was partially my fault. We grew up together, and wanted to become pokémon trainers at the same time so we could go on our own journey. Unfortunately, my mother stopped us from going when I was ten. She said I wasn't ready. These two promised to wait until I was told I was ready."

"I see," Professor Oak murmured. He pointed to the large white building on the far side of town, and he gave them a smile. "Well, if a journey is what you want, then your wish has been granted."

They followed the professor into his lab, passing by another flock of pidgey. Inside, it was nice and cool. It was perfect compared to the sweltering heat outside, and Professor Oak led them to the back of his lab, where three red deices sat on his large white desk. "These are now yours. They are called pokédexes; any pokémon you encounter will have its data automatically added to it. Think of it like a digital encyclopedia."

He handed each of them a pokédex, along with a single plastic card and five small capsule-like devices. "You'll need these as well; these are your trainer cards. They're very, very important; these will make sure you get free service at pokémon centers, enable you to compete in the gyms, and keep track of your money. You don't want to lose them. And these are called pokéballs. They enable you to catch more pokémon.

"Understood. Thank you, professor." Alana took her trainer card and pokédex, putting both items in her back pocket. "And the pokémon food?"

"Of course! Here you go; this should be enough to keep you for awhile." The old professor handed them three bags of food, each weighing five pounds. "Don't worry about running out; you can easily find pokémon food in the Poké Marts in town, and your trainer cards will give you a discount on any items you get."

"Sweet, mate." Alex grinned, hefting the bag over his shoulder. "Bloody hell, this thing weighs a ton. Syao, do you think we should get our bags from home?"

"Was about to suggest that." Syaoron nodded, carrying his own bag effortlessly.

"Well, off you three go. Your pokémon journey is finally about to begin." Professor Oak waved his hand and smiled as they left the lab, eager to start their new journey together.

Syaoron headed towards his house, pursing his lips. "I can carry the food in my bag, both our pokémon and ours." Physically, he was the strongest out of them, and the only one who could cook.

"I'll carry the sleeping bags and the first aid kit," Alex added.

"Looks like clothes are me." Alana started to jog across the street to her own house. "I'll be right back! Wait for me outside Route 1!"

She didn't how to handle to amount of excitement she was currently feeling. Ever since she was a little girl, she wanted to become a pokémon trainer. Whenever her father, Siegfried, would start telling her stories from when he was an active trainer, she would listen eagerly. He told her countless tales about his journey over Kanto, from visiting Mt. Moon on the night of a full moon to the times he went exploring a glacial cave on the island chain southwest of Fuchsia City.

' _Finally, I'm going to do what he did!'_ she thought excitedly. Her mother, Sophitia, would be worried, of course; no true parent didn't worry when their child was out exploring the world by themselves. But now, she couldn't deny that her daughter was finally ready to follow in her father's footsteps and journey across Kanto.

Alana reached into her jeans, pulling out her phone and dialing her mother. It rang for about ten seconds before she finally picked up. _"Alana? Is everything all right?"_

"It is, Mom," the blonde replied. "I have something to tell you. I'm going to go on a pokémon journey with Alex and Syao."

There was a pregnant pause before her mother said anything in return. _"I see. I suppose I can't shelter you from the world forever. But no matter how old you get, you'll always be my little girl. I'm sorry I'm not there to see you off."_

"Don't worry about it." Alana smiled. "You can make it up to me by being the first one to congratulate me when I win the U18 Championship at the end of August."

The Kanto League was divided into three separate tournaments. For trainers ten through fourteen, they competed in the U15 Championship. For those fifteen through seventeen, the U18. Those who were eighteen or older competed in the big league, the Kanto Regionals. Being fifteen, Alana qualified to be able to compete in the U18 Championship, provided she managed to fulfill the requirement of defeating every single pokémon gym in the region.

With her charmander on her side, she felt ready.

" _Ambitious, aren't we?"_ Her mother chuckled. _"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, dear. You still have a long way to go. For now though, all I can do is wish you good luck, and keep safe. Give me a call whenever you need to."_

"I will. Bye, Mom." Alana walked inside, heading upstairs to grab some extra clothes. Three pairs of shorts, socks, and undergarments were thrown into her blue backpack first, followed by two shirts and an extra pair of shoes. _'Not too much. I do want to leave room for Alex and Syao's stuff too.'_

She plucked her keys from her desk, went back downstairs, and walked outside.

After locking the door behind her, the blonde jogged to the northern gate of Pallet Town, where Syaoron and Alex were already waiting for her.

"Ah, there you are, lass." Alex grinned lazily. "You ready to get going?"

"You bet." Alana winked at him, stretching her arms high above her head. "So, where to first?"

Syaoron was studying a map, and he looked up from it to answer her. "Nearest city from here is Viridian."

Alana joined him, looking at it with wide eyes and whistling. "Wow. If the legend on the map is correct, we're looking at a five mile hike, at the very least." _'We're probably going to get some nasty blisters.'_

"Bloody hell, mate." Alex rubbed his temples. "What I wouldn't give for a bicycle right now."

"You'd still complain," Syaoron said dryly. He hefted his bag, carrying it by the strap over his shoulder with a grunt.

"You two got some extra clothes?" Alana asked, opening her bag. There was plenty of room, enough for each of them to put in at least two spare outfits. Knowing them, though, she doubted they would bother bringing more than one pair of pants. _'Boys will be boys, I suppose.'_

"I did." Alex nodded, and he handed her a small pile. "That's all me."

"Okay." Alana stuffed it in her bag. "Syao?"

He gestured over to a pile of what appeared to be all black clothing next to him, and Alana let out a sigh of exasperation. "Why am I not surprised? Do you have anything in your wardrobe that _isn't_ from Goths 'R' Us?" Alex let out a bark of laughter at that.

"Black is the best color," Syaoron defended. "It goes with everything."

"I'll make sure to remember that when you're complaining about the heat once it hits July and August," Alana muttered. Syaoron rolled his eyes, but didn't say anything in return.

"Anyway." Alex chuckled. "Should we get a move on? I'm not sure about you, but I really want to get to Viridian City before dinnertime."

"If it ends up that way, then I'm glad we have the tents," Alana said. They took their first step out from Pallet Town, and Alana squirmed in anticipation.

"Wow," she whispered. "This is it. This is the beginning of our very own journey." Another step forward.

"I know, right?" Alex grinned. "This is pretty exciting."

He paused, and snapped his fingers as they started to make the long trek to Viridian City. "I know! Why don't we have a little contest? Whoever catches the most pokémon before we reach the city is the winner, and whoever catches the least has to do the cooking. How about that?"

"Knowing that you can't cook anything without nearly burning the house down really makes me tempted to lose on purpose," Syaoron said with a deep chuckle. "But I'm in."

"Me too," Alana added. "Ready, set, go!"

The three started to look for wild pokémon in the tall grass, their eyes constantly searching for any sign of movement.

After a few minutes, Alana spotted something rustling in the bushes. _'There!'_ She grabbed Charmander's pokéball and threw it. "Go! Ember!"

The small lizard blew out a small flame, and she heard a high-pitched squeal. A blue and white mouse-like pokémon appeared, and it bared its sharp teeth at Charmander.

" _Rattata, a normal type pokémon. This small pokémon uses its claws and teeth to protect itself,"_ her pokédex recited.

"Interesting." Alana gave her charmander a nod. "Go for it! Use Growl, then hit it with Scratch!"

Charmander growled at the rattata while it wagged its tail, signaling that it was using Tail Whip in an attempt to lower Charmander's defensive abilities. However, Charmander quickly leapt and scratched the small mouse pokémon, and it let out another squeal.

"Good work!" Alana plucked an empty pokéball from her bag and threw it. The exhausted normal type was struck by the red beam, and the pokéball clicked to signal that it had been successfully captured.

"Yes!" Alana pumped her fist into the air, grinning at Syaoron and Alex. "How about that? I think I just took the lead, boys."

"Not for long." Syaoron chuckled. He threw out his squirtle to combat a pidgey that had came down from the trees, and he stroked the brim of his hat. "Bubble."

Squirtle blew out a small stream of bubbles, the attack knocking the pidgey out of the air. It crashed onto the ground, and Syaoron threw an empty pokéball at it to catch it.

He held up the normal-flying type's ball, winking. "Tied now."

"Bloody hell, I'm starting to think I'm going to be the unlucky one," Alex complained mockingly. "Haven't found a single bloody thing."

"Hmm. We'll, we should be bound to find more pokémon the further we go," Alana pointed out. "Besides, we probably spooked everything nearby with the racket we were all making."

"True." The blond teen shrugged. "Let's get a move on, then."

They proceeded down the road, their eyes still looking for any potential signs of wild pokémon being nearby. It wasn't hard for Alana to imagine that all eyes were on the trio, staking them from the grass and wondering whether to fight or to stay hidden.

Once, she thought a pokémon was close to her. However, it turned out to only be the gentle breath of the wind, and her hopes sank a little as the time went by.

"Any luck?" she asked.

"Nada." Alex shook his head, as did Syaoron. Alex sighed and looked up at the sky above, hands in his pockets. "Blimey, I didn't think it would be this hard to catch just one of the little blighters."

"Me neither," Alana agreed. They had been on the move for nearly a few hours, and the trees were beginning to thin out as they inched their way closer and closer to Viridian City.

The blonde stopped, wincing and rubbing her legs. "Damn feet are killing me, though."

"Mine too." Syaoron looked up at the sun, blazing in all its glory. "Think we should stop for a bit?"

"Yeah," Alex answered. "Didn't expect to use the first aid kit on blisters first." He crouched down, opening his bag and pulling out a tube of ointment and a few bandages. "Here we go. Put these on, and we should be good to go."

They all stripped off their shoes, grumbling as they put the ointment on their blisters, and covered them with bandages before sliding their shoes on again.

They had stopped by a beautiful pond, with a few varieties of flowers blooming on its banks. It was a good place for one to catch their breath, whether it be pokémon or people, and after a brief thought Alana let both Charmander and Rattata out to get some air. "Go on, you two. Get some air."

Rattata still eyed Charmander nervously, and the blonde girl assumed it was because of their fight earlier. _'Of course he'd still be wary. I suppose it's only natural to be on edge for a little while.'_

Charmander gave the rattata a few soft growls, petting its shoulder gently in an attempt to encourage it. Alana smiled at that. "Adorable. Are you guys feeling hungry?"

Rattata shook his head, though she could spot the exhaustion in his eyes. He still looked worn out, and Alana returned him to his pokéball. "You get some rest. You need it."

Charmander though let out a happy noise, jumping up and down. The flame on the end of his tail shone a dark orange, and Alana looked over to Syaoron. "Hey, can you pass me some pokémon food?"

Syaoron was busy tending to his newly acquired pidgey, inspecting its wing with a critical eye. "Yeah. Just give me a second; I think Pidgey's wing is a little messed up."

"Is it?" Alex came over to inspect it. After a few seconds, he nodded in confirmation. "Yeah, it's got a cut on the inside of the wing.."

He reached for a potion, giving the small bird an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this. It'll sting a bit."

He sprayed the potion onto the pidgey's wing, and it let out a wince. However, it did manage to flap its wings a little, resting on Syaoron's shoulder. The brunet gently stroked its feathers reassuringly. "Don't worry. It's all better now. You want something to eat?"

Pidgey flew around him, cawing excitedly, and Syaoron smiled. "Alright, boy. I'll get you something real quick. Don't you worry a thing."

He knelt down, pulling out a bag of food and some bowls for Charmander and Pidgey and pouring them both a bowl of food. Charmander dove into it eagerly, and Pidgey landed next to the fire type to eat.

"How's Bulbasaur?" Syaoron asked. "Does she need some food?"

"Nah." Alex grinned. "She's as happy as can be right now. Looks like her chewing on my laces earlier was enough."

The three shared a laugh, and once Charmander and Pidgey were done, they were recalled into their respective pokéballs.

"Okay," Alana said, stretching her arms and legs. "Let's go onward. We should reach Viridian City before five o'clock if we hurry."

"Don't worry, we'll get there on time." Alex laughed. "You don't have to be so antsy to get there."

"Hey!" Alana objected playfully, giving him a nudge. "I'm not being antsy! I just want to see new places!"

Syaoron adjusted the brim of his hat, staring off into the distance. "You know…today is both an ending and a beginning."

"What do you mean?" Alana asked curiously, falling in next to him.

Syaoron closed his amber eyes, hand still on his hat while he knelt down to pick up his bag again. "This is the end of our childhood, so to speak. We're going out to see the world for ourselves, now. But it's also a beginning. The beginning of new memories, waiting to be experienced. Two things will never change, though." He looked at her with a small smile.

"We'll always have each other, and that light in the sky will always be there, slowly burning and lighting our path as we go onwards."

"Bloody hell, mate. That's really deep," Alex said, whistling. The wind was starting to ruffle his hair, and he slid his hands into his pockets.

"But, you're right, my friend." He slicked his bangs out his eyes. "Come on. The whole world is out there, waiting for us to explore."

Their journey was only just getting started, and they couldn't wait to see what the winding roads of Kanto held in store for them.

 _ **A/N: That's it for this first chapter. Any and all comments are welcome, so don't be shy to tell me what you think. Did you like something? Could something be improved on? Tell me what you think below!**_

 _ **A heads up though; this story will probably only be updated maybe once a month, thanks to my always busy schedule, and I don't know how long each chapter will take me to write. But, chapters of this length will be common, so hopefully the waits are worth it XD**_

 _ **Discord: DPL #5371**_


	2. A Promise Kept

_**A/N: Hello all, and welcome to the second chapter. Thank you to all those who reviewed and took the time to point out what could be done better.**_

 _ **I suppose I should say this (even though I don't feel it's necessary), but becoming a master trainer isn't the end all be all for our protagonists. Each of them will have a goal in mind, and will work towards it while raising their pokémon.**_

 **Slow Burning Lights**

 _Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality._

 ***A Promise Kept***

 _April 6_ _th_ _, 2015_

 _Route 1, 3:37 pm_

Alex pointed to the city in the distance. "There she is. Viridian City. We're nearly there."

"About damn time," Syaoron said with a grunt, tugging the brim of his hat down over his face. "The sun's been brutal today."

"Told you. I bet you're already regretting your decision to only wear black now, aren't you?" Alana grinned, giving him a gentle nudge in the side with her elbow.

The three had been on the move for nearly three hours, taking a few breaks in between to check on their pokémon. Bulbasaur had a quick bite to eat, and Syaoron took the time to make sure his pidgey could fly around properly after its earlier injury.

"Not really," Syaoron answered, giving the blonde a nudge back. "I'm still comfortable. I just hate being blinded constantly." He unscrewed the cap from a water bottle and took a gulp, his cheeks slightly flushed from the heat.

A soft bird noise came from one of the trees above, and they looked up to see a small red and brown bird pokémon flying above them. It didn't look like it could do much harm to their pokémon, and Alex grinned before throwing a pokéball, letting his bag fall on the ground. "Bulbasaur, get it!"

Syaoron frowned and took a picture of the pokémon with his pokédex. _"Spearow, the sparrow pokémon. It uses its agility to evade attacks and can inflict damage with its sharp beak."_

"Alex, watch out!" he warned. "This one might be too much for Bulbasaur to handle. You're at a serious disadvantage." _'It can use Peck to really harm Bulbasaur. Better for me or Alana to handle it.'_

In fact, given that charmanders typically were stronger with special attacks, it probably would've been ideal to let the blonde handle it. But, she had been wrapped into a battle with a pokémon of her own. _'Well, looks like I'm up.'_

He stroked the brim of his hat and threw out a pokéball. "Let 'em have it, Squirtle!" The small turtle appeared in a red flash, and Syaoron gave Alex a nod. "I'll distract it for you. Once we get it down low, try and see if Bulbasaur can pin it down!"

"You got it." Alex grinned, and he pointed for Bulbasaur to take cover amongst the tall grass. "Hide in there, quick!"

Bulbasaur snorted and trotted in, crouching down. She gave the spearow a glare through narrowed eyes, and Syaoron cracked his neck. "Alright, let's get this over with. Bubble, now!"

Squirtle took in a deep breath and blew out a stream of bubbles. The spearow dodged under the first salvo, glaring at the brunet. _'Good. Now that I have its attention, we should be able to pull this off.'_

"Again!" he instructed. Squirtle used Bubble again, and once more the attack missed thanks to the bird pokémon's agility. It raced towards his squirtle and bowled it over, using its beak to peck at it. Squirtle winced in pain, and Syaoron gave Alex a nod. "Now!"

Alex snapped his fingers, and Bulbasaur sprung. Two green vines shot out from her body and wrapped around the spearow, slamming it onto the ground twice. It cried out each time, and Squirtle got to his feet. It took a breath in as if to prepare for another Bubble attack, and Syaoron put a hand up, shaking his head. "That's enough, Squirtle. You did well. Return."

Squirtle didn't look thrilled, but he allowed himself to be returned to his pokéball without complaint.

' _I'll make sure he gets a little extra food later tonight.'_ Syaoron turned to Alex, who had captured the spearow, and he gave him a fist bump. "There's your first capture. Feel free to thank me whenever you wish."

"Not going to bloody happen." Alex winked, patting Bulbasaur's head. "Good job on learning Vine Whip, girl." Bulbasaur affectionately butted her head against his hand with a happy grumble.

"Dammit!" Alana growled angrily, her features set in a scowl. "I lost it!"

"Lost what?" Syaoron asked, jogging over to where the annoyed blonde was. "Don't tell me you lost the car keys again. I'm not running over to Stacy's house to get them."

"Haha." Alana let out a sarcastic laugh. "No, I lost the pokémon I was battling in the bushes. It ran off on me."

"Do you know what it looked like?" Alex asked.

"Only managed to see a little bit," Alana admitted. "Purple, and with sharp horns. Might have been a poison type of some kind."

"Poison?" Syaoron thought carefully. "It might be a nidoran. A male, to be specific. Do you want to go after it?"

"Hell no." Alana shook her head, picking up Charmander and letting him rest on her shoulder. "I'm not a fan of running into things with spikes."

"The time you ran into a thorn bush after a soccer ball when we were kids begs to differ." Syaoron let out a snort of disbelief. "As does the cactus incident. I know you remember _that_ one."

"Oh, shut up." Alana's cheeks were red with embarrassment. "I refuse to acknowledge that part of our childhood."

"Well, what do you acknowledge, your mightiness?" Alex asked. He picked up the bag he had dropped earlier, swinging it over his shoulder.

"I acknowledge you two always being pains in the asses."

Her dry remark was met with two laughs, and Syaoron put his hands up innocently. "I never actually participated in any of his dumb antics. Don't rope me in with that alien." _'Well, it's mostly true.'_

Alana rolled her eyes and took the lead again, walking ahead of the two. "Oh, please. I haven't forgotten the good old butter on the floor prank you pulled two years ago."

In Syaoron's defense, it _was_ April Fool's Day, and it was payback for a prank Alex did to him earlier in the week. The blond had decided it would be funny to swap his shampoo with pink hair dye, and even though it came out fairly easily, it did produce a lot of awkward questions. Mainly from his mother.

"Whatever." He gave a shrug, wiping a bit of sweat from his face. "Let's just hurry up to Viridian."

* * *

 _6:56 pm_

They stopped at the entrance to Viridian City to catch their breath, and Alex couldn't help but feel a little bit happier now that he had managed to catch his first pokémon. True, Syaoron did help him out, but he felt proud nonetheless. _'Makes me feel like a real trainer. Can't wait to really see what a spearow can do.'_

"Should we go over to the pokémon center first?" Alana asked.

"Yeah." Syaoron nodded. "After that, we should probably reserve a few rooms and hit the Poké Mart; there won't always be a center for us to rest our pokémon."

"What about the little bet we have?" Alex asked. He started to grin mischievously. "Don't tell me you two are ready to toss in the towel already?" _'It is fun messing with him. He gets so awkward when he's riled up.'_

Syaoron let out a sigh of exasperation, shaking his head. "I'm half tempted to do so, just to spare us the possibility of having to suffer your cooking."

Alana nudged the blond. "Come on; while Mr. Broody McBrood is busy playing Chef Ramsay, you and I can continue trying to catch as many as we can. What do you say?"

"You don't have to ask me twice." Alex chuckled. "You're on."

Syaoron rolled his eyes, jogging over to the pokémon center. "I'll go book us some rooms. Don't take too long."

"Hey, you know me." Alana put her hands in the air in mock surrender.

The two went to go back out to catch some more pokémon, and they ran into a young man wearing green and red pants. He waved over to them to get their attention, lifting the brim of his wide hat up. "Hey, you two! Are you pokémon trainers?"

"Yeah. Why?" Alex's curiosity was piqued. He hadn't expected anyone to think twice about it, seeing as a lot of people raised, bred, or trained pokémon.

The man scratched his stubble. "The name's Ryan. I'm a ranger; we like to help catch pokémon that run off into places they're not supposed to be in and protect the wilds. We've received word from the Viridian authorities that a pokémon not native to this part of Kanto is running amok in the fields south of the city. Have you two perchance stumbled upon it?"

"What does it look like?" Alana asked.

"Small and purple," Ryan answered. "A nidoran. Male, by the sound of it."

Alana nodded. "I did. Put up a nasty fight before it ran off."

Ryan pursed his lips, and he reached into his pocket to pull out a small camera and some bait. "Well, how would you like to earn a few extra bucks by getting some pictures of it for me? We can always use the help of trainers, and I'm more than happy to pay you for your time. All you need to do is take a few good shots of it. I'm sure that won't be too much of a problem."

Alex and Alana shared a glance, and the blond nodded. "We'll do it, mate. What do you want us to do with the pictures once we have them?"

"I'll be waiting for you here, outside the city gates," Ryan replied. "Once it's properly identified, I'll go to see if I can catch it and bring it back to its native lands by Mount Moon."

Alex could see the mountain in the distance, reaching up into the sky. "How the bloody hell did it even get here?" _'That's a rather long way for it to go.'_

"Must have chased some prey from the mountain through the forest until it ended up here." The ranger shrugged. "You best be off now. Good luck."

The two trainers headed out of the city and back into the fields, and Alex hummed out a gentle tune while he planted the bait next to a nearby oak tree. _'The tree's perfect for cover. Just need to climb it is all.'_

"Do you think it'll come out?" Alana whispered. "I think it might recognize our smell."

"Relax, Blondie." Alex chuckled, climbing up the tree until he was a solid twelve feet above the bait. "It'll be more interested in the food than us. Now come up here, will you? We don't want it scared off by your worrying."

"Who say I'm worried?" Alana muttered, reaching up and climbing next to the blond. The two began to watch quietly, looking for any signs of movement in the tall grass.

The minutes passed by, and Alana let out a quiet sigh of boredom. "This is taking far longer than I would've liked. Syao's probably worrying about where the hell we went off to."

"Nah. He's busy cooking, I bet. I'll bet you a chocolate bar that he made a beeline for the marketplace the first chance he got," Alex returned equally as quietly.

Alana then pointed to a slight hint of movement in the grass. "There! Look!"

A small pokémon nervously crept out of the grass, its eyes darting around. It was the nidoran, and it was spooked.

Alex reached for the camera Ryan gave them, raising it to his eye and snapping a few quick pictures of it. _'That's three. But we'll need more than that.'_

The poison type pokémon hesitantly sniffed at the bait, and it looked around before beginning to eat it. It let out a happy noise before munching away, and the blond took a few extra photos. "Alright, I think we have enough. Should we head back?"

Alana opened her mouth to answer when a loud crack alarmed both of them, and the blonde let out a surprised scream as the branch she was on snapped clean off.

"Alana!" Alex lunged over and grabbed her by the wrist, preventing her from falling. The nidoran had disappeared in fright, and he grimaced as he felt his grip on his own position slowly starting to slip. "Dammit!"

Alana had her eyes squeezed shut, and she blinked them open to see him struggling to keep his handhold. "Alex, let me go. It isn't that far of a drop; I'll be fine."

His shoulder was beginning to hurt him and Alex gritted his teeth, refusing to let go. _'I need to find a way to get her down safely.'_

' _Wait a minute, Bulbasaur's Vine Whip! Perfect!'_

He wrapped his legs tightly around his branch and drew out the pokéball, throwing it. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip to catch her!"

The grass-poison type appeared in a red flash and Alex dropped Alana into the pokémon's waiting tendrils. Just in time, too, as the branch Alex was on also gave way. He shielded the camera and shifted himself to land on his shoulder instead of his face, and he heard a loud pop followed by sudden pain.

"Alex!" Alana ran over to him, helping him up. "Are you okay!? Let me see it!"

"Anyone get the number of that bus?" he asked weakly, trying to joke. His right arm dangled loosely, and he clutched it in agony. "Bloody hell, that really hurts." _'Dislocated, or possibly broken. Real good start to this adventure.'_

Alana carefully rolled up his shirt to get a better look at it. "It's dislocated, not broken. Once we get it fixed, you should be fine after a few weeks."

She let out a sniffle, looking away. "Why did you do that for me? You could've injured yourself even worse!"

Alex winced and gave her a weak smile. "You're one of my best friends, Alana. I'd always help you. Yeah, I took a pretty nasty fall just now. But I'd do it again if it meant helping you or Syao. I know he'd say the same thing. It's what good friends are for."

"Still…" Alana's dark blue gaze was on the ground.

"Don't." Alex shook his head firmly. "Don't say it was your fault. It wasn't. Come on, let's head back into town."

Alana nodded quietly and she kept a firm grip on him as they made their way back through the fields and into the city.

Ryan was waiting for them outside, and the ranger frowned in concern when he saw the state of them. "Hey, what in the name of the Winged Mirages happened?"

"Fell out of a tree," Alex answered with a wince. He held up the camera, still in good condition. "We got the pictures though."

"Thank you. Let me see what I can do about your arm." Ryan pulled out a length of red wrappings, and he offered it to the blond trainer. "Here; bite down on this. This will hurt."

He gripped Alex's arm and snapped it back into place. The bolt of pain made him let out a muffled yell, and he was thankful for the cloth in his mouth. He spat it out and looked at his arm, now back in its proper position. "Thanks mate. I owe you one."

"Not at all." Ryan waved his hand dismissively and helped make a sling for him. "You should take it easy for the next two weeks; it'll still be painful."

He scrolled through the camera to see what kind of pictures Alex had taken, and he nodded approvingly. "You got some good shots too. You have a good talent for this. Say, why don't you keep the camera? Use it whenever you like to make memories of your journey."

"Really? Thanks!" Alex grinned in appreciation. Despite having messed up his shoulder for the next two weeks, he was in a rather good mood now.

"No problem. And here; your payment for a job well done." Ryan handed him and Alana each a small stack of money before jogging towards the pokémon center. "Catch you kids later!"

Alex watched him go, though not before counting the money he had received. "Hmm…a pretty good amount, wouldn't you agree?" _Fifty each, huh? Not a bad start.'_

Alana nodded quietly. The guilty look remained on her face, and Alex put an arm around her shoulder to try and cheer her up. "Hey, don't worry so much. How about we go and see what Syao has cooked up for us? I could use a bite to eat."

"Right…"

Alex sighed. So much for telling her not to worry.

* * *

 _8:32 pm_

Syaoron studied the recipe in front of him carefully, his amber eyes unblinking as he gently stirred the pot. The only room the pokémon center had left was one of the bigger rooms usually rented out by two people and it came with a kitchen. It wasn't by any means the size he was used to, but it was more than sufficient for him to cook up today's dinner, French onion soup.

"Hmm, I never thought I'd ever have to use thyme," he murmured. The smell wafting up his nostrils made his stomach growl in desire, and he scratched his nose before adding it to the broth he had simmering on the stove. _'Well, only one way to find out if it's actually good.'_

Next to him on the counter was a cutting board with several slices of French bread on it and three bowls he had packed. He rinsed off the knife he used earlier and dried it off with a small black towel, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

While Alex and Alana were out, he had taken a quick stroll to the marketplace after he booked them a room. The stalls held all sorts of fresh ingredients such as breads, cheeses, fruits, and vegetables, all of them grown and made in Kanto.

He closed the recipe book and set a timer for thirty minutes; it would need to simmer for that long before he could do anything else to it. _'Damn. If only it were ready by now.'_

He heard the door to the room open, and he turned to greet Alex and Alana. "Hey. Dinner's being made."

He frowned when he saw Alex's arm in a sling. "What the hell happened to you?"

"Fell out of a bloody tree trying to get pictures of a nidoran," Alex replied with a wince. "Dislocated the damn thing and had it put back in."

Syaoron sighed and gave him a rap on the head. "By the Mirages, be more careful. You're lucky you didn't crack your damn skull open. I'm not holding your hand while you scream yourself to death."

"Gee, what a way to make me feel loved." Alex rolled his eyes and pulled out a camera. "Hey, the bloke who we had to take pictures for gave us this. Not bad, eh?"

"I swear, if you start taking selfies…"

"I won't. Calm down." Alex winked. "I'll only do scenery shots or group photos."

"Good." Syaoron noticed Alana seemed a little down, and he motioned with his head for her to follow him into the kitchen while Alex sat down on the bed.

Out of earshot, he put a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Are you alright? You look depressed."

Alana let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Alex fell because he helped me after the branch snapped. I know it wasn't my fault, but I still feel guilty about him getting hurt because of me. I don't know what to say."

Syaoron took a deep breath. "As much as I would love to reprimand him for that stunt, I'd do the same thing in a heartbeat for either of you."

"He said you'd say that."

"Well, he's not wrong." Syaoron patted her on the back. "Don't worry too much about him, alright? He maybe a bit of a twit at times, but he always keeps a promise. Remember the ones we made two years ago? How we'd always help each other?"

Alana nodded. "I do."

"Well, he's just keeping that promise." Syaoron gave her a small smile. "We'll take it easy for a week, just so his arm can heal up, and then we'll head north through Viridian Forest to Pewter City. If the forest is as big as the map says, we might be in there for a day. And I don't know anyone who likes camping out in the woods."

Alana perked up at the mention of camping and she smiled. "Considering I'm the only one who knows how to properly make a tent and a fire out of any of you, you can bet I'm looking forward to it."

"That's the spirit." The brunet winked. "Now why don't you have a seat? Dinner should be ready in about twenty minutes."

"What are you making?" the blonde asked. "It smells delicious."

"French onion soup," Syaoron replied, stirring the pot's contents slowly. "Figured we could use something like this to end our first day on the road together."

Alana took a slow sniff, and she groaned longingly. "It smells so good…I'm glad you're the one doing the cooking. I'd be afraid I would mess it up."

"It's not too difficult to learn. Next chance I get, I'll show you how, okay?"

"You got it."

* * *

Twenty five minutes later, Syaoron had pulled their bowls out of the oven, each of them steaming hot and with melted provolone cheese on top. "Alright, dinner is served! Come and get it while it's nice and hot."

Alex and Alana sat down at the table, and the three friends began to eat. With Alex's right arm being in a sling, he was forced to use his left hand, which did make for a few awkward slip ups.

"Bloody hell, I wish I was ambidextrous," he groaned as he spilled a few drops on his pants. "I wouldn't be doing this."

The soup came out just as good as Syaoron had hoped it would, but if he was honest with himself, he wanted to spend a little more time on the onions to really get them crispy before adding them to the broth.

The last bite was punctuated by the sound of silver scraping the bottom of the bowl, and Syaoron stood up to carry their dishes away and clean them. "So, how was it?"

"Epic."

"Amazing. Too bad there's not an infinite supply of it."

"Glad to hear it." Syaoron smiled. Seeing how happy his friends were after a meal was always a confidence boost and he scribbled down a reminder to make it again sometime in the future. _'I'm definitely making that again.'_

With dinner now over, it was time for them to figure out the sleeping arrangements. "Alright, I have some news for you. There's only one bedroom. Alana, that's all yours."

"Why?" she asked curiously. The brunet raised an eyebrow and the realization sank in ten seconds later, her cheeks turning a faint hue of pink. "Oh…right."

"Smooth." Alex let out a snort of laughter.

Syaoron rolled his eyes. "Alex, you can have the couch. I don't mind having the floor."

"Any reason why you insist on sleeping on the floor?" he asked.

"Yeah. It's so I don't have to hear you complaining in the morning about you having back issues as well as a shoulder problem," Syaoron answered dryly. "All joking aside, take the couch. You need it more than I do. Besides, I can sleep anywhere if I put my mind to it."

"That's for damn sure," Alana muttered. She let out a yawn, making her way into the bedroom. "Night."

"Night."

"See you in the morning." Alex awkwardly clambered onto the couch, and not even a minute later he was snoring away.

Syaoron shook his head and pulled out the guidebook from his bag. The next city on the way was Pewter and he wasn't interested just for the gym alone. He was more intrigued by the museum in the city that held artifacts from Kanto's history. He had a strange fascination with archaeology ever since he was young. Going to a place like this would be like finding a gold mine.

He looked at Alex's sleeping form. They weren't going anywhere until Alex's shoulder stopped acting up, and even then they'd take it easy.

The brunet rested his head on his pillow and closed his eyes.

The museum could wait.

 _ **A/N: Admittedly, this fic fell behind in the update schedule due to my many fanfics currently active. But, I have managed to complete a shit ton of them this year, so I'm a little more open now XD**_

 _ **Thanks for reading!**_

 _ **Discord: C. Strife #5371**_


	3. Mischievous Forest

_**A/N: Chapter three everyone! I've had an abundance of free time open up, and now this fic can finally get the focus I need it to. Hope you enjoy!**_

 **Slow Burning Lights**

 _Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality._

 ***Mischievous Forest***

 _April 19, 2015_

 _Viridian City, 7:34 am_

"So, what's on the agenda today?" Alex asked. His hands were behind his head as he strutted through the city with Spearow perched on his shoulder, and the normal-flying type was more than happy to be out of his pokéball; he was chirping cheerfully, enjoying the fresh air.

"Well, seeing as your arm is better, I think we should continue heading north," Alana replied, her nose buried in the guidebook. "The only way we can get to Pewter City from here is if we take the path through Viridian Forest. Shouldn't take us too long, but I still think we better make a few purchases for supplies. Better safe than sorry."

"Well, how long is it supposed to take someone to get through?" Alex's green eye was open and he yawned.

Alana shrugged and closed the book. "Dunno. A few hours, at least. Supposedly it's inhabited by a lot of bug pokémon too."

Syaoron didn't say anything at first; instead, he let out a quiet yawn and slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans after tilting his hat to block the sun out of his eyes, his bag hanging from one shoulder. He didn't look particularly thrilled at having to trek through a giant forest home to lots of bug pokémon.

"Did we have to get up at the crack of dawn though?" he finally asked wearily.

"It's not that bad," Alana defended. "Besides, the earlier we get a move on, the sooner we can reach Pewter City."

"We could've at least grabbed a bite to eat first." Syaoron's stomach growled as if to agree with him.

The blonde sighed and rolled her eyes, fiddling with her ponytail. "We'll stop by somewhere before we get out of the city. A stand or two ought to be open."

As if to prove her point, a delicious smell started to waft from one of the alleyways. It made her mouth water longingly, and she looked at the two boys. "You guys smell that, right?" _'What is that? It smells amazing.'_

The two stopped, and Syaoron closed his eyes. "Hm…if I were to wager, I'd say there's a takoyaki stand nearby. A little early, but I'm more than game for having some. It would add more to the recipe book."

"You actually have one now?" Alana's eyebrow rose as they turned down the alley. "It only took you long enough."

Alex felt the camera hung around his neck with a grin. "Should I take a picture to save this beautiful moment in history?" Alana laughed at the sigh of exasperation Syaoron let out as a response.

"If you feel the urge." He shrugged.

They continued until they found the stand. The owner was a middle-aged man, possibly in his early fifties, and he already had quite a bit cooked when they arrived. "Ah, welcome. May I interest you in some of my homemade takoyaki? Freshly made this morning!"

"Yes, sir." Syaoron nodded, and he held out his trainer card to pay for it. "Three each, if it isn't too much trouble."

"Not at all, young man." The chef smiled and handed him nine balls of it, taking his card to complete the payment. "Pokémon trainers like yourselves don't often come by here. I guess seafood turns off most youngsters."

Alana took a bite and her mouth was invaded by plenty of savory flavors. "Mmm…this is really good."

"Indeed," Syaoron said with a nod of agreement. "If you don't mind, how do you make it exactly?"

"Ah, a student of the culinary arts?" The chef chuckled. "Well, my boy, the preparation is really key to it. Balancing out the octopus and tempura will be your trickiest bit; trial and error is how I learned my perfect balance. Everyone has different tastes, though. Some like a stronger bit of the tempura, others the pickled ginger and onion."

"Hmm…" Syaoron was looking at the sauce that decorated the top of it, and he tasted it. "Interesting flavor. Goma-dare?"

"Aye! Been using it for over twenty years!" the man boasted proudly. "Most folk prefer my batch with traditional takoyaki sauce and mayonnaise, but every now and then I get customers like you who have a love for the culinary arts."

Syaoron chuckled. "Well, thank you."

"No problem! Stop by again when you get a chance!" The vendor grinned.

The three left the stand behind and started to walk through the city, eating what they had purchased.

"Wow. Normally I'm not a fan of seafood, but it's really good," Alex remarked. The blond wiped a bit of sauce from his lips, and he crumpled up his empty bag before throwing it into one of the grey metal trash cans lining the city streets.

"So, are you planning on adding that to your recipe book?" he asked.

Syaoron nodded, and he took a bite out of his last one. "Most definitely. These are something that I think you'd appreciate as a snack for when we're on the road."

They were now outside the northern entrance of the city, staring into a vast field with a single dirt road through it. The field sprawled out in front of them, connecting the bustling city with the faint smudge of dark green in the distance.

"Well, that's where we're headed. Viridian Forest." Alana shifted her bag onto both shoulders. "Gonna be a heck of a hike."

"Ah, that's just part of the fun." Alex winked, calling Spearow back into his pokéball. "Try not to fall behind."

"Please. Syao and I would leave you far behind," Alana returned. She wanted to add more, but she heard a little bit of rustling from the tall grass to her left. "Wait…do you guys hear that?" _'It sounds like a pokémon is nearby. But what is it?'_

The two boys stopped to listen, and Syaoron nodded. "I do. It's a pokémon of some kind."

Alana reached for a pokéball on her waist, throwing it. "Charmander, go!" The small fire lizard appeared, swinging its tail. The air around them heated up considerably, and Alana began to sweat. She wiped her face and gave the fire pokémon a command. "Ember!"

The charmander opened his mouth, and out came a small stream of flames into the grass. The tall green quickly caught fire, and Alex jumped back to avoid getting singed. "Bloody hell! That might not be the greatest idea! You could set the whole plains on fire!"

' _I probably should've realized that before I ordered it to use a fire attack.'_ Alana pursed her lips and looked over to Syaoron. "Think Squirtle can handle damage control?"

He nodded and released his own pokémon. The small turtle took in a deep breath and blew out a stream of bubbles to douse the flames. They died, and out came the nidoran from two weeks ago. It had a serious burn on its side from Charmander, and it didn't look in any condition to fight. Several scrapes from battling other wild pokémon dotted its purple flanks, and it lowered its head with a soft whine.

"It's hurt," Alana murmured. "Charmander, return." The fire pokémon looked at her in surprise, but it was recalled back without a fuss.

The nidoran flinched away when Alana took a step towards her, baring its teeth. It was spooked and hurt, and its horns bristled.

"Shh…it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." Alana gave it a reassuring smile, bringing out an empty pokéball. "Alex, you got medicine on you? Preferably a rawst berry and a potion?"

The blond nodded, putting his bag on the ground and pulling out a small blue berry and a potion. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Alana took the berry and potion, giving the wounded nidoran a pat on the head. "This'll sting a bit." She sprayed the potion onto its scrapes, and the poison type pokémon winced. The blonde finished applying it, and she held out the rawst berry. "Eat this. This'll get rid of your burn."

The nidoran hesitantly bit into it and chewed, grimacing at the taste. But it must have known it would help it out, because it ate it without a noise of complaint. After it finished swallowing, it let out a happy noise and reared up on its hind legs briefly before it bounded over to her, rubbing its head against the blonde's leg.

"Glad you're feeling better." Alana smiled and petted its head. "Do you want to join us?"

The nidoran nodded. Alana tossed the empty pokéball at it, and it fell on the ground before it clicked. She picked up the ball up and clipped it back to her belt.

"Well…that was interesting to watch," Alex remarked. He stroked his chin, frowning a little. "Huh…that's interesting. I thought that nidoran was the one that bloke Ryan was looking for? I assumed it would have been captured by now."

"Same. I guess it must have been really tricky." Alana shrugged, picking up her bag and setting off. "Well, let's continue on our way. We still have a lot of ground to cover."

"Hang on a minute." Alex fumbled with the camera around his neck, pointing. "Look over there. It's a perfect scenery shot."

Syaoron and Alana shared glances, but they went over to their friend while he looked through the lens. The sun still wasn't too high up, and the blond positioned himself to get a picture of the sun creeping up with the tall trees of Viridian Forest in the distance. He snapped a picture of it, nodding in approval. "Alright, got it. Want to take a look?"

"Sure." Syaoron shrugged, and he peered over Alex's shoulder to take a peek at the photo he just took. He gave it a nod of approval, thumping him affectionately on the back. "Nice shot. Maybe giving you access to a camera wasn't a bad idea after all."

"Lemme see." Alana joined him, and she put a hand on his arm. "Wow. That's…that's really good. It could be a book cover or something."

"Really? Thanks!" Alex grinned and clicked away, taking a few more shots of the beautiful scenery in front of them. "Maybe I can earn some extra money selling some of these for magazines, eh?"

"I'm sure a publisher would love to have a trainer working for them part-time," Syaoron replied. The brunet stretched his arms out with a yawn. "Now, time to get a move on, before the sun gets too high."

They proceeded down the dirt road, and after two hours, they found themselves at the beginning of Viridian Forest. The tall trees loomed overhead, the thick canopies blocking out the sun. Only a few rays managed to penetrate the heavy leaf cover, and it gave the forest a rather unique gloomy atmosphere. The gentle chirping of bug type pokémon could be heard all around them from the bushes that grew wherever the trees didn't.

"Well…I have to say this is nice," Syaoron remarked, looking around them. Alana and Alex stared at him, and he put his hands up. "Hey, I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here or anything, but the trees are quite lovely."

Alana shook her head, only to stop as she heard a rustling in one of the bushes. She put her arm out to stop the two boys, placing her fingers to her lips. They stopped, and from the bushes yelled the anxious voice of a young boy. "I-I got you now, you thieving mouse!"

Much to their surprise, a young boy leapt out of cover, swinging his net wildly. The blonde put her hand on her hip and sighed in exasperation, watching as the poor boy spun around like a top before he tripped on one of the thick gnarled roots on the ground and fell on his backside.

"This way up, kiddo." Alex hefted the boy to his feet. "What are you doing out here?"

The boy dusted himself off, and his face began to turn red from embarrassment. He scuffed the dirt with one of his shoes, letting out an awkward chuckle. "I…may have let a pokémon run off with my lunch."

"How…?"

"I was at my camp site when I had to use the bathroom, and when I got back, all I saw was a pikachu running away with my sausages!" he exclaimed. "I spent ten minutes trying to cook them!"

"I find it a little odd that a wild pikachu would actively go after meat," Syaoron remarked quietly. "Something about this seems a little fishy."

"I'm inclined to agree with you." Alex nodded and turned back to the young trainer. "Don't worry; have some of these instead of chasing a pokémon around this maze." He reached into his bag and handed him a package of hot dogs.

"Really!?" The young boy's eyes lit up, and he took them graciously. "Thanks a bunch!"

"No problem." Alex grinned.

The boy ran off with a happy yell, and the blond shook his head. "Reminds me of when we all that age. Except I'm pretty sure neither of us had a pikachu steal our lunch. Think we should keep an eye out for it?"

"Definitely." Alana nodded. "Syao's right; pikachu typically don't like meat like that. Something must have happened for it to get that bold. Perhaps a swarm of beedrill is invading its home?" The bee-like pokémon were known for being particularly aggressive, attacking anything and anyone who intruded on their territory. Pokémon who happened to end up in its territory were also on that list, and a pikachu by itself wasn't going to fend off an angry swarm.

A bright flash of yellow electricity illuminated the dark forest ahead, and a loud angry roar was heard. "OI! GET THAT PIKACHU!" It seemed yet another trainer trying to make their way through Viridian Forest was a victim of the mischievous pokémon.

"Well, so much for having to look out for it," Syaoron muttered. He slid one of his hands into the pockets of his dark jeans, the other reaching for a pokéball on his belt. "Thing is gonna run right towards us."

"I wouldn't if I were you," Alex warned. "Both Pidgey and Squirtle are weak to electric attacks; they'd end up like a fried chicken at Nan's house."

He threw out Bulbasaur, motioning for her to try and intercept it. "Use Vine Whip to try and catch it!"

Two green vines shot out from the bulbasaur's pod once the runaway pikachu came into view, but the small electric mouse was far too agile to be caught that easily; it leapt over the vines, and a weak electric shock struck the grass-poison type. Bulbasaur winced, and Alana moved in to provide additional support. "I'll help!"

She threw out Nidoran, the small poison pokémon's large ears stiffening at the rapidly approaching pikachu. "We need to slow it down! Sand Attack!"

The nidoran scuffed on the ground before kicking a pile of dirt at the pikachu's face, and it cried out in shock. It tried to paw the dirt away from its face, but Nidoran was on it in an instant; he charged with his horn ready and struck it in the body. The pikachu flew backwards into the air, and Bulbasaur's vines wrapped around it to prevent it from getting hurt.

"We got it. The little bugger has a lot of energy, I'll give it that," Alex said, wiping his face. He patted Bulbasaur on the head. "Good catch, girl." Bulbasaur nibbled his hand affectionately.

The pikachu was struggling to break free from the vines, sparks flying from its cheeks. Its eyes were wide in panic, and it let loose a lightning bolt at the three, forcing them to scatter.

"Dammit. This guy does not like being held captive, does he?" Alex muttered, wiping a bit of dirt from his blue jeans.

"It's spooked," Alana pointed out. "I bet if we can calm it down, it won't be loosing Thundershock attacks at us."

"And how do you suppose we do that, Oh Wise One?" Alex asked.

Syaoron brushed past the two, a bowl of pokémon food in his hands. "Like this." He placed it down in front of the captive electric type, standing back to let it eat in peace. He motioned for Alex to let Bulbasaur release it, and the blond nodded.

"Let 'em go, Bulbasaur," Alex requested. "Poor guy is spooked enough as it is." The vines unwrapped themselves from the pikachu's body, and it looked up at them. It was lying on its stomach, ears flat against the side of its head, and it slowly got up to make its way over to the food bowl.

It sniffed hesitantly before crunching down on a few pellets, and its eyes brightened up. It immediately dove headfirst into it hungrily, and Alex snorted in laughter before raising his camera to grab a shot of the spectacle. "Got it. Otherwise, I'd never believe it."

The pikachu jumped back in surprise at the bright light, only to calm down once it realized it wasn't being threatened. It went back to eating with a shrug, quickly devouring the entire bowl in little more than ten minutes. The pikachu stood back up happily, licking its paws clean with a content squeak before running back into the forest; hopefully with its stomach full, it wouldn't have to resort to stealing from trainers anymore.

"Well, what do you know?" Alex chuckled. "That's all he needed. Just a little bit of food goes a long way."

Syaoron picked up the empty bowl and put it in his bag, slinging it back over his shoulder. "Told you. A nice meal is sometimes all you need."

They continued to walk through the thick forest, admiring the size of the trees that had grown over the years as they headed deeper and deeper; the forest was completely untouched by humans, and one giant tree in the center of a small clearing stood taller than the rest. It was wide, wider than any of the other ones that surrounded it, and Alana let out a whistle as they looked up into its canopy. "Wow. This one's ancient. It has to be a few hundred years old."

"I'd bet close to five hundred," Syaoron murmured, running a hand over its tough bark. "This forest is remarkably untouched; it's not unreasonable to think that this one has survived for that long."

Alana leaned against it, sliding down into the cool grass below. "I need a breather; those blisters are bugging me again." Her feet were aching badly and she pulled off her sneakers with a wince. _'Dad wasn't kidding when he said going on a journey was more difficult than it looked. I probably should've listened.'_

Alex plopped down next to her, rubbing his shoulder. "I could use one, too."

"How's your arm feeling?" the blonde asked.

"Still sore, but I expected as much," he replied, shrugging. He looked around the clearing with a whistle, running a hand through his hair. "Nice spot to pick for lunch, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Alana agreed, applying a fresh set of bandages to her blisters and handing the box over to Alex. "What time is it?"

"Let's see…" He looked down at the silver watch around his wrist. "It's after one o'clock already? Bloody hell, time definitely flies by."

"You mean to tell me we've been trudging through this forest for little more than four hours?" Alana asked rhetorically. She slid further down, resting her head in her hands with a sigh. "This place is a lot bigger than I thought it would be." _'We weren't even in the plains outside Viridian City for two hours; we've spent more time here than we have outside it.'_

"To be fair, it is the largest forest in Kanto," Syaoron pointed out, the brunet carrying several branches in his arms. He placed them down in the middle of the dirt, and Alana rose to help him stack them to make a small fire.

"Do you have anything to get this going?" she asked.

Syaoron patted his pockets and shook his head. "No. Dammit, I should've bought a pack of matches while we were in the city. I didn't think of it."

Alana reached for one of her pokéballs. "Don't worry, I got this. Charmander, come on out." The small fire lizard appearing in a flash of red, and he looked at the stack of logs with a curious sniff.

"Mind being a dear and lighting this for us?" she asked sweetly.

Charmander grinned and stuck his tail under the wood, and it ignited. The flickering flames glowed vibrantly, providing them warmth, and Alana patted his head. "Thanks, boy. We owe you one. Next time, Syao, buy a pack of matches."

"Yeah, I get it," he muttered dryly before bringing out another package of hot dogs. "Sorry it isn't the masterpieces you were hoping, but it'll do for now."

With lunch cooking, Syaoron pulled out the guidebook and flicked through the pages. "While we're in Pewter City, there's one thing I want to check out as well as the gym. There's a museum there, and the entry fee is only five bucks each."

"Does it have anything interesting?" Alana asked, giving a hot dog a poke with a fork.

"Plenty." The brunet nodded and held it out for them to see. "It's got a few fossils of prehistoric pokémon, including a complete fossil of an aerodactyl."

"Ooooh." Alana shivered at the mention of the prehistoric terror. Aerodactyl were known for their extreme aggressiveness, speed, and raw power. The pokémon was considered the top predator when it reigned over the world millions of years ago during the age of the dinosaurs. It was considered extinct in the wild now, but quite a few of them had been reanimated back to life via the laboratory on Cinnabar Island.

When her father would tell her stories about having to battle the fierce creatures, she couldn't help but shudder. Just the vivid way he described their powerful wings and razor sharp teeth was enough to produce a small amount of fear, even now.

' _Calm down,'_ she chided inwardly. _'There's nothing for you to be afraid of. They don't exist in the wild anymore, and those that are alive from the DNA experiments are trained; they wouldn't attack a person directly.'_

The smell of cooked hot dogs wafted up her nostrils, and she turned her attention back to their lunch. "I think these are ready."

Syaoron inspected them with his chef's eye, and he nodded. "Yep. Get them before they burn too much, and be careful; they're hot."

They took their hot dogs, blowing on them to cool them down before eating. Lunch was a quick affair, and after they put out the fire using Squirtle's Bubble attack, they were back on their way.

The path was overgrown and blocked by several thick bramble branches, and Alana let out a groan of frustration. "I don't suppose there's a way around this mess?" Trees and bushes lined the paths with no gaps in between, and the sharp thorns on the branches were not going to be pleasant to walk through.

"Ack!" Alex yelled from behind, and he was struggling to remove what appeared to be a web from his legs. "What the bloody hell is this!?"

"Looks like string," Syaoron remarked calmly, walking over to the blond and freeing him from it. "Did you walk into a spider web by any chance?"

"No. This stuff just came out of nowhere!" Alex exclaimed.

"Hmm." Syaoron pursed his lips and pushed a bush out of his way to reveal a small green pokémon on the ground. "I thought so. Looks like a caterpie took a liking to you and used String Shot."

"Well, I'm flattered." Alex rolled his eyes and threw out his spearow. "Go and get it! Use Peck!"

Spearow rushed forward with its beak glinting and pecked the small bug type pokémon, and it squealed in pain. Alex plucked an empty pokéball from his waist and tossed it at the caterpie. It struck the pokémon in the head, and it clicked to confirm it had been captured. "Got you."

He clicked the button on his ball to let it out, and he leaned down to scoop it on his shoulder. "Well, she really seems to have an attraction to me. I'm flattered."

The caterpie was rubbing its head against him, letting out happy squeals.

"Awww. That's adorable." Alana giggled. "This is probably the only time you can get away with taking a selfie."

Alex petted the bug pokémon's body. "How far through the forest have we come so far?"

"According to the map, we're about halfway through," Syaoron replied, nose buried in the map. The bramble branches still blocked their path, and he let out a sigh before folding the map and sticking it in his back pocket. "Well, until we get past this, we're not going anywhere."

"Any ideas? We could always push through it," Alana suggested.

"And we'd be more prickly than a hedgehog," the brunet pointed out dryly. "I'm in no mood to be pulling thorns out of my rear." Alex chuckled at that.

"I could use Bulbasaur's Vine Whip to smack them to the side," he suggested. He threw out the grass-poison pokémon, and it whacked the bramble away.

With the path cleared, Alex recalled Bulbasaur and Caterpie, bowing gracefully. "Well, feel free to thank me whenever you desire." He winked.

"Not happening." Syaoron snorted with laughter and they were once again on their way through the forest. They had a lot of ground left to cover, and they hoped they reached the city of stone before it was dark.

 _ **A/N: And that's it! The bit with the pikachu was inspired by a bit in the Pokémon manga with Red, where a pikachu is causing chaos in (I believe) Pewter City and he captures it for a reward. For this, I didn't think that would really fit the characters.**_

 _ **It's also nice to explore a little more of their hobbies, like photography, cooking, and camping. It helps make them more rounded characters.**_

 _ **Next up, we'll finish going through Viridian Forest with a few trainer battles, and then we'll be in Pewter City for the museum and the first gym battle! Thank you all for reading, and I'll see you again hopefully soon! Happy New Years!**_

 _ **Discord: C. Strife #5371**_


	4. A Friendly Wager

_**A/N: Hello and welcome to chapter 4. We'll finish up Viridian Forest (two chapters spent on it. Good lord XD), and have a friendly matchup :D**_

 **Slow Burning Lights**

 _Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality._

 ***A Friendly Wager***

 _April 19, 2015_

 _Viridian Forest, 4:47 pm_

"Hey, how far are we through the forest now?" Alex asked. His caterpie was resting on his shoulder, letting out high pitched chirps as they continued on their walk through the forest. They had been on the move for most of the day, and the sun was slowly beginning to descend in the sky. It seemed as though the forest was growing dimmer by the minute, and yet the winding trail didn't appear to be ending any time soon.

"I think we're nearing the end," Alana replied, her hands behind her head. "I mean, we've been in here for most of the day. We can't have too much further to go."

"Hmm…the trees do seem to be getting thinner," Syaoron remarked. He was slouched over slightly with a hand in a pocket, adjusting the brim of his hat. "I see us getting out of here easily within the next hour or two, depending on our pace. Why? Don't tell me you're feeling sore now."

"I'm not," Alex hastily defended. "But by the Mirages, one can only stare at trees for so long before they start to go a little mental. It just never ends, mate. I'm tired of seeing trees no matter where I turn my head."

Alana sighed and ducked under a branch that hung precariously low. "Don't worry. We'll be out of here before you complain next. I promise." If she was honest, she didn't have a clue how far they were through the forest; she didn't have the map on her. That was currently on Syaoron's person, not hers.

"Hey, do you have the map?" she asked.

"Yeah." The brunet nodded and pulled it out from the back pocket of his jeans, unfolding it. He stared at it with a frown for several seconds, swatting a gnat away from him. "Hm. We're near the end, according to the legend on the map. Like I said, we only need maybe another hour or two at most."

"Perfect." Alex let out a huff of annoyance, tugging on the collar of his sweaty t-shirt. "In the meantime, I guess I just have to bake to a crisp?"

"That's right. Suck it up and deal with it, Buttercup." Syaoron smirked and took off his hat for a few seconds to run a hand through his hair. "If you weren't so busy complaining, you would've known that I packed a few extra bottles of water for us to drink on the way. I'm not in a mood to give you a piggyback ride."

"Bugger. I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder, mate." Alex gave him a sheepish grin and swung his back around to pull out a bottle of water. The blond unscrewed the cap and took a few healthy chugs before spraying a bit onto his hair to cool himself down.

The humidity of the forest was steadily growing worse by the minute, and the air became thick and hot in spite of it being the later stages of the afternoon. A cool breeze gently whistled through the forest, rustling the leaves, and Syaoron put his hand up to stop them. "Wait."

Alana and Alex stopped behind him, and they could hear a faint buzzing noise growing increasingly louder. It sounded like the vibrating of wings, and all three trainers started to feel more than a little uneasy.

"Do…do you hear that?" Alana asked.

"Yeah." Alex nodded and looked around. "And it's getting louder. I don't like this."

"Me neither," Syaoron agreed. "Safe to say we should probably have our pokémon out, just in case." Squirtle and Pidgey were out of their balls, and Alana and Alex called out their own pokémon.

The buzzing got even louder, drowning out the other noises of the forest, and soon a swarm of bee-like pokémon flew towards them.

"Crap! We must have stumbled into a beedrill swarm's territory!" Alana shouted over the noise. "Any plans!?"

"There's too many of them for us to fight!" Alex returned just as loudly. "I say we run for it!"

"Seconded!" Syaoron nodded in agreement. The swarm of beedrill must have been twenty or thirty strong, far too many to take on and hope to come out unscathed. In times like these, it was best to just get out of there before they got themselves or their pokémon injured in an unwinnable battle.

"Squirtle, Pidgey, return!" the brunet ordered. The normal-flying type pokémon returned without a fuss, but Squirtle didn't look too happy about running away from a fight. The water type seemed disgruntled by it, and Syaoron gave him a stern look. "No. I know you hate running from a fight, but this is one we cannot win."

The squirtle snorted indignantly, but he was sealed back inside his pokéball before he could protest. Syaoron would let him out and burn off some energy once they were out of harm's way by letting him fight some wild pokémon.

He knew from reading a few books about pokémon that squirtle were impatient by nature; they were often brash and headstrong, causing headaches for younger and less experienced trainers. One had to be both patient and firm to raise one of the water types properly.

The brunet sighed and motioned for Alex and Alana to follow him. "Come on! Let's go!" He didn't want to admit it, but this forest was starting to irritate him a little despite his earlier statement of liking it upon their entry. The constant humidity was bad enough, but now a swarm of beedrill showing up? He honestly couldn't believe it could get any worse.

The three broke into a run, none of them looking back. Syaoron grimaced as sharp thorns tore through the fabric of his jeans, and he could hear Alana's yelp as the thorns scratched her, too. _'Dammit. We're getting torn to shreds here. Never mind, it can get worse.'_

He felt the sudden urge to swear loudly, if only to vent a little of his newfound frustration about the forest. He usually didn't let out such outbursts being the rational one; that job was usually reserved for Alex. The blond definitely voiced complaints and irritation much more often than he did.

But by the Mirages was the temptation to do so overwhelming. _'Screw this damn forest. I cannot wait until we're finally out of here.'_ Yep, it definitely was starting to make him crack a little.

He nearly tripped over a gnarled root from one of the trees, and he caught himself before he could slam headfirst into the leaf litter that blanketed the forest floor. _'That was way too close for comfort.'_

The three of them stopped running after they left the beedrill swarm far behind, and they wheezed for breath.

Alex hunched over, his hands on his knees. "Bloody hell. That…was utterly exhausting. Can we not do that again? Please?"

"What's the matter? Feeling tired?" Alana asked teasingly, looking just as worn out as him. All three of them looked absolutely cooked; running in that kind of heat and humidity had taken its toll on them, and Alana flopped down on her bag, cheeks red.

"At least we managed to cover some ground?" she asked rhetorically. Alex chuckled at that.

Syaoron rolled his eyes and sighed, but she wasn't wrong. In their haste to get away from the beedrill before they ended up being on the receiving end of a Poison Sting or Twineedle attack, they had covered a decent amount of ground. The trees were much thinner, and the path through the forest was noticeably more weather beaten. The tracks of other trainers were still visible in the dirt, meaning that others had passed through not too long ago.

Good. Maybe they'd get out of here before dinnertime came around.

They caught their breath and Syaoron pulled off his hat to run a hand through his sweaty brown locks. _'Damn. I didn't expect to run into a swarm of beedrill along the way. This forest is just getting more and more frustrating the longer we sit in here.'_

He glanced up at the sun briefly. It still shone high and bright in the sky, and he sighed before putting his hat back on. _'No point sitting around complaining. We're almost done with it, anyway.'_

"Come on. It can't be much further now," he said.

He just hoped they'd get out sooner rather than later. He wasn't joking about Viridian Forest's novelty wearing off rapidly.

* * *

 _Route 2_

 _5:56 pm_

"Ugh, about bloody time. I thought we'd never get out," Alex muttered irritably as they left the dense Viridian Forest behind and were back on the road. No longer were they surrounded by thick forest; instead they were once again in the middle of a great plain that stretched far and wide.

"What, all the trees finally get to you?" Alana asked with a smirk. "And here I was thinking that maybe you enjoyed it."

"I was right up to the point we got chased by three dozen beedrill looking to jab us to death," Alex returned dryly. "After that, I got tired of it."

"Want a battle? Friendly wager?" Syaoron offered. "If you win, I'll cook anything you want."

"And if you win?" Alex asked with a grin on his face.

"I'll handle the music for when we're on the road for a day or two." Syaoron knew that the blond wouldn't be able to resist the urge to battle. Alex was spoiled by the graces of having an excellent cook for a friend, and an opportunity to get him to cook anything he wanted was just too damn tempting.

"You're on, mate." Alex smirked and threw out a pokéball. "Let him have it!"

Syaoron stroked the brim of his hat and threw out his own pokéball with a lazy flick of his wrist. The two balls hit the ground, and out came their respective pokémon. Alex went with his spearow, and Syaoron with his rattata.

"Spearow, use Peck!"

"Tail Whip!" Syaoron ordered.

The spearow raced towards the small normal type, jabbing it hard in the shoulder with its beak. Rattata fell on the ground in a cloud of dust with a wince, licking at the sore spot on its body. It was successful in lowering Spearow's guard with Tail Whip, though; the normal-flying type didn't look to be as worried about defense.

' _Perfect.'_ Syaoron smirked and stroked the brim of his hat. "Hit it, now! Quick Attack!"

"Dodge it and use Leer!" Alex countered.

The spearow gave Rattata a dirty look, but it wasn't able to avoid the lightning fast attack. It landed on its back, squawking indignantly, and Syaoron pressed his advantage. "Hit it again! Tackle!"

The rattata scuffed its paws on the ground before barreling over the injured spearow, and it didn't get up.

Alex recalled his injured pokémon, patting the outside of its ball gently. "Don't worry. You did good, mate. Alright, Caterpie, you're up!"

A flash of red, and the tiny bug pokémon was out.

"Hit it with String Shot! We need to slow it down!" he yelled. The small green bug pokémon spat out a web of string, ensnaring the rattata. It struggled to break free, using its sharp front teeth to try and hack away at the thick string, and Syaoron gritted his teeth.

He had his pokémon trapped. Rattata simply couldn't break free, no matter how hard he tried. _'Good eye for strategy. I'll give him that.'_

"Hit it with Tackle while it is pinned!" Alex pressed, his eyes gleaming with triumph. The caterpie bowled the defenseless rattata over, and it didn't get up.

"You did well, Rattata. Return." Syaoron recalled his injured pokémon to rest in his pokéball, and he threw out his second pokémon. "Pidgey!"

"Ah, bloody hell," Alex sighed. "I completely forgot about that one. Hit it with String Shot to slow it down!"

"Dodge and counter with Gust!" Syaoron ordered. Pidgey gave a nod and weaved in the air to avoid the strings of sticky silk. The normal-flying type was much more agile than Rattata and was able to dodge the attack with ease, and it flapped its small brown wings hard to create a powerful gust of wind.

Alex raised his arms and planted his feet hard in the ground to prevent himself from being blown over by Pidgey's attack. However, his caterpie was not so lucky. The small bug type was thrown across the fields into the tall grass with a squeal of pain, and it struggled to get to its feet.

"Finish it! Tackle!"

Pidgey nodded and swooped down before ramming itself hard into the caterpie. It squealed again, and this time it was done for. It was too exhausted to even move, let alone battle. Still, for having a severe type disadvantage, it did pretty damn good.

"Return." Alex raised up the pokéball and recalled the exhausted caterpie, and he shrugged before taking out his last pokémon. "Well, it's not looking all that well for me is it? Bulbasaur!" The grass-poison type also had a serious disadvantage against Pidgey, but it was also stronger than Caterpie. If it ensnared Pidgey with its Vine Whip attack, Bulbasaur could very easily turn the tides of battle.

He couldn't let that happen. Syaoron had to take it down before it could really start bringing on the full heat. "Sand Attack to lower its accuracy." _'Need to play it smart. Rushing in will lead to disaster.'_

"Growl!" Alex ordered. "Lower its attack power!"

Bulbasaur let out a cute growl to throw Pidgey off, and it stopped mid-flight in confusion. It tilted its feathered head quizzically, and Alex grinned at him. "Gotcha. Vine Whip!"

"Sand Attack!"

Pidgey kicked up a bunch of dirt and hurled it into Bulbasaur's face to blind it, and Bulbasaur immediately began to cough and rub away at its large eyes. It wobbled, and Syaoron saw his opening.

"Hit hard with Gust!" He stroked the brim of his hat, tugging it down a little to block out the sun. _'Not even summer yet, and already the sun is this hot.'_ The air was thick and humid despite the breeze, and that meant an approaching thunderstorm was on its way. They had to get to Pewter City fast if they didn't want to be caught in it.

' _Crap. It's that time of season for it to downpour constantly. Curse this month.'_ Syaoron sighed and wiped a few beads of sweat away from his face, adjusting his black shirt. His decision to wear dark colors in this kind of heat was starting to backfire on him. He wouldn't admit it unless he wanted to hear Alana and Alex make terrible jokes at his expense for a month, but he definitely agreed that he should've packed a few pairs of shorts for the journey.

He just had a problem of exposing his legs unless he was swimming. He didn't understand why. It was just something he didn't like doing. _'I'll get over it eventually. For now though, these jeans are staying on.'_

Syaoron sighed and gave his pidgey a firm nod. "You know what to do. Hit it with Gust, and follow up with Tackle."

Pidgey flapped his wings hard, panting with the effort of creating a powerful blast of wind. Bulbasaur gritted her teeth and tried to keep her footing, tanking the hit as best as she could. Bulbasaurs were known for being very solid defensive pokémon, capable taking serious hits and still fighting. Alex's didn't look like she was going to go down without a fight, easily taking the brunt of Pidgey's Gust attack.

"Vine Whip!" Alex called over the sound of the howling winds. "Try and catch it if you can!"

Bulbasaur grinned and two slender green vines shot out of the bulb on the pokémon's back. They twirled in the air and wrapped firmly around the pidgey, and Bulbasaur slammed it hard on the ground. Pidgey crashed in a heap of feathers and dust, and some of it got into Syaoron's throat.

The brunet coughed, trying to clear his throat, and he approached his fallen pokémon. The normal-flying type looked up weakly at him and cawed softly. It was beaten.

"You did good. Take a rest." He recalled the wounded pokémon, letting him rest up. He needed a break after suffering that kind of defeat in battle. _'Damn. I didn't expect Vine Whip to do that much damage. That bulbasaur is stronger than it looks.'_

Both of them were down to their last pokémon. Syaoron looked at the pokéball in his hand and shrugged, tossing it onto their makeshift battlefield. "You're up, Squirtle." _'I'm at a disadvantage, with Alex having a grass-poison type and me a water. But, that doesn't mean I'm done for. A battle only ends when one combatant loses, and I sure as hell haven't lost yet.'_

"You must really want me to cook you something, huh?" he asked. "It better not be fish and chips."

"What, you have a problem with them? They're popular in Galar!" the blond returned. "Every shop served them!"

"Yeah, but we're not in Galar right now," Alana said dryly, speaking for the first time since their battle began. The blonde had been watching their battle in quiet fascination, her eyes wide with excitement as she observed the matchup. "We're in Kanto."

"…and seafood is popular here."

"Okay, good point," Alana conceded with a roll of her eyes. "Syao, do you think you could make it if you tried?"

"Could I? Yes, I think I could," he said. "It's not exactly difficult to make, but you know how I like to make my dishes."

"I can just imagine us having a battle against some wild pokémon and you just pop in, 'That's it! I've come up with a new recipe!'" Alex laughed, bending over to rub Bulbasaur's head. "So, do you want to finish our battle now? Or would you like to wait until we're in our fifties?"

"Let's finish this. I can practically smell the rain," Syaoron replied. "Squirtle, use Tail Whip and follow up with Tackle!"

"Growl and counter with Vine Whip!"

The vines came out of Bulbasaur's body, trying to whack the water type away while it growled in a cute manner to cut Squirtle's attack power. Squirtle twisted to avoid them, wagging its tail to make the bulbasaur more at ease. One of the thin vines still caught Squirtle in the chest and he fell onto his back, limbs flailing as he desperately tried to right himself up.

' _Come on, you can do it. Get up, get up…'_ Syaoron could hear his blood pumping hard in his ears, muffling the sounds of the battle. "Focus. Don't let it distract you."

Squirtle got back onto his feet, eyes determined despite being at a disadvantage. He drew in a gulp of air and fired a stream of bubbles at the grass-poison pokémon, making the bulbasaur grimace and close its eyes. The attack wasn't particularly effective, but that distraction was all he needed.

"Now! Tackle!" he yelled. Squirtle lowered his head and charge, kicking up dirt in his wake. Bulbasaur opened its eyes to find the squirtle charging, and it wasn't able to move out of the way of a powerful Tackle attack. The bulbasaur was thrown onto its back, skidding across the ground, and it wobbly tried to stand up only for Squirtle to hit it again with another hard tackle.

It slumped, its face resting in the ground, and Alex recalled his pokémon. "Well, you win mate. Good fight."

"Thanks. You too." He recalled Squirtle, patting his ball affectionately. All of their pokémon were weary from the battle, but they still gave their respective trainers grins. It was nice to have a good friendly head to head matchup like this.

"So, what music do you feel like playing?" Alana asked, rubbing her legs. "Something good, I hope?"

"Dunno. I just said that to see how far Alex would go to get me to cook for him." Syaoron smirked and gave the blond double finger guns. "By the way, you're paying for the next time I cook something."

"I know." Alex rolled his eyes. "To be honest, I doubt I'd ever get upset about that. You are one hell of a cook, mate. You could easily open up your own restaurant and make millions."

"Maybe." Syaoron shrugged. "I don't think it's something I'd want to use to make money, though. I enjoy it too much for it to be my career." _'What do I want to do? This may be a journey to become pokémon trainers, but it isn't the end all be all. This is merely a means, not an ends.'_

He sighed and looked at the light grey blur in the distance that could only be Pewter City. It was surrounded by the massive Mt. Moon, and he could see a hint of white snow on the peak of the mountain, even in spring. The brunet pulled out their town map and looked at it as they walked along the beaten path, ignoring Alex's and Alana's conversation about what kind of food they'd want to eat in the city.

' _Hmm. We'll have to get through Mt. Moon if we want to get to Cerulean City. Doesn't look like it will be an easy hike,'_ he mused. From what he could see on the map, several tunnel systems were carved into the mountain for trainers to get through. _'I'll bet it's a maze inside. I don't even want to think of how much of a pain it will be.'_

He closed it and folded it up neatly into a nice little square, shoving it into the back pocket of his jeans. _'We'll need some hiking boots for when it gets really rough. Internal network of tunnels or not, I guarantee this won't be the first mountain we have to get past.'_

"Hey, while we're in Pewter City for the gym, we should probably see if we can pick up some hiking boots," he said. "If we want to get the next city, we'll have to go through Mt. Moon."

" _Through_?" Alana asked.

"Yeah." Syaoron nodded. "The map says there's a network of tunnels that go through to the other side, where Cerulean City is. Only problem is that it's a damn maze and a half to get through. We'll probably be camping in it, considering its size."

"Ugh. I hate camping," Alex groaned. "Too exposed."

"Oh, quit being such a drama queen." Alana elbowed him in the side. "It's not that bad, once you get used to it. It's actually quite nice, being away from the bustling cities and being able to see the beautiful nighttime sky."

Alex could only shake his head. "Unbelievable."

"Less complaining, more walking."

"I get it. Tyrant."

Syaoron could only sigh and hope they made it to Pewter City before the rains came in and drenched them.

* * *

 _Pewter City_

 _7:04 pm_

The sun had mostly fallen by the time the trio had reached Pewter City. Most of the food stalls were already closed down, meaning they would have to go and eat at the pokémon center in the middle of the city for dinner.

The center was packed full of other trainers, many of them giving the three brief nods of welcome before turning back to their conversations.

"Wow, it's busy here today," Alana remarked. "Trainer season is underway now."

"Yeah." Alex nodded. "Most of the trainers here I bet already signed up for the Kanto League at the end of the season. You gonna compete in it?"

"You bet." Alana grinned. "I'm not missing out on a chance to become the champion of Kanto. What about you?"

"I'll compete. Syao?" He looked over at the tall brunet, who merely yawned.

"Same."

"Awesome. All three of us competing. Race to the finish, I guess." Alana winked and jogged over to the receptionist desk. "I'll go book us some rooms!"

The two boys watched her go and Syaoron let out a soft chuckle, removing his hat and running a hand through his messy brown hair. "Has it really been six years since we became friends? It feels like just yesterday we were hanging around Pallet Town playing football."

"I know, mate. Tell me about it." Alex lazily blinked. "I honestly can't believe time flew by this quick. But you know what? There are no other people I'd rather walk around Kanto with than you two."

"Keep up that mushy crap, and I'll think you're about to make a love confession." Syaoron smirked.

"Shut up, Syao."

"You didn't deny it."

The two looked at each other and laughed before approaching the healing station to let their pokémon fully recover from their earlier matchup. They had worn themselves out trying their best in a play fight, and Alex let out a sigh of relief when the machine fully restored his pokémon.

"Good thing that's done. Don't have to worry about being bested by a weedle or a kakuna now." He laughed.

"If you lost to a pokémon that can only really use Harden in the wild, I might have to smack you," Syaoron said dryly. "Hard, too."

"…I'd probably deserve it for that," Alex admitted.

Alana came bounding over to them, holding one key up. "They're fully packed. All they have is one room available."

"Seriously? This happened to us in Viridian, too," Alex groaned. "If it happens in the next city, i'll think it is more than just rubbish luck."

"They're not that good." Syaoron rolled his eyes and placed his three pokéballs in the restoration machine, putting his trainer card in to verify him. "It's the beginning of the trainer season. Of course there are going to be a lot of trainers staying here. Once we start going further, we'll see less and less as trainers either give up or go out to train in the wilds more."

"True. I guess we'll just have to deal with it." Alana shrugged. "So, what do you say we get something to eat and call it a night? We'll have plenty to do in the morning, exploring the city and whatnot."

"Agreed. I could use a proper nap." Alex yawned and stretched his arms out. "Syao? You coming?"

The brunet nodded and followed the two, feeling slightly awkward at a few stares many other trainers were giving him. He could feel their eyes burning holes into the back of his head, and the hairs on his neck prickled. He had half a mind to tell them to take a picture instead of gawking. _'Why are they all staring? Do I have something on my face?'_

Syaoron didn't like it one bit, but he chose to keep his mouth shut instead of saying some kind of sarcastic remark. He didn't want to start some kind of confrontation in the middle of a pokémon center.

He passed a table where two girls sat, and out of the corner of his eye he saw one of them tip her sunglasses down to get a proper look at him like he was a piece of candy. _'…never mind. Seriously? Is that what this is about?'_

Syaoron wasn't sure whether to rub his temples and sigh or not to. _'I guess it's to be expected. We are at that age.'_

He was glad when they reached their room, away from prying eyes. He didn't like being stared at.

"So, what are our plans for tomorrow?" Alana asked, plopping down on her bag.

"Well, we're all competing in the Kanto League, right?" Syaoron asked. Two nods answered him.

"Okay, then the first thing we'll do after a quick breakfast is check out the pokémon gym in the city. Once we get that first badge, I say we go and explore the city a little bit. There's the museum of course, but there's also a few shops around that will probably catch our interest. We'll need to pick up boots, but we can do that before we set off towards Mt. Moon; I think we should have a good night's rest before we attempt to go through the largest mountain in Kanto."

"Sounds good to me." Alex stretched again, feeling his shoulder. "So, what time do you want to wake up for the gym? What time does it open?"

"It opens at eight in the morning," Syaoron replied, taking off the belt that held his pokéballs. "However, and hear me out, I think we should get a few training rounds in before we try to take on a gym leader. Especially this one."

"Why? What type is it?" Alana asked.

"Rock, according to the guide," Syaoron answered. "Alana, you're at a serious disadvantage. You won't win with brute force. Charmander's Ember attack won't do much to the leader's pokémon."

"That's why you're suggesting we train beforehand. Make sure we're all ready." Alex nodded in agreement. "I like it. We can't allow ourselves to get overly confident against a gym leader; they're defenders of their respective region for a reason."

"Exactly. So, all of us will be getting up before eight, but we won't challenge the gym until a little later. That way we won't get caught in the traffic of other trainers wanting to take on the challenge," Syaoron said.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Agreed!"

Tomorrow, the three of them would take the first real step on their journey by challenging the gym leader. But for now, it was time to get something to eat and call it a night.

 _ **A/N: So, this one definitely took a lot longer than I would have liked to come out. For that, I do apologize. I do have a small announcement to make, though.**_

 _ **Remember how I said this would only include the regions Kanto, Sinnoh, and Unova? Well…I decided otherwise. With the announcement of Gen 8, I have decided to include the Galar region. Why? Because one: the new female trainer is adorable XD. Two: it's based on the UK. That makes Alex canon now XD**_

 _ **C. Strife #5371**_


	5. The Gym Challenge

_**A/N: Well, here's chapter five! Sorry for the delay as usual, but I had a lot to deal with in regards to work being an utter bitch to me and it didn't really leave me with a lot of time to write. So enough of me rambling; here's the chapter!**_

 **Slow Burning Lights**

 _Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality._

 ***The Gym Challenge***

 _Pewter City_

 _April 20_ _th_

 _6:45 am_

Alana was the first one woken up by the alarms they had set the previous night, and she let out a loud groan of annoyance and shielded her ears from it by burying her head under her pillow. _'Not now. That felt like a thirty minute nap. No way it's already morning.'_

Still, there was simply no way she could drown out the irritating screech of their alarm, and she grudgingly sat up to mute it. The blonde lifted the pillow from her head and she sighed, looking up at the tan ceiling of their room in the pokémon center. They had a very busy day planned ahead of them, with them training early on to get ready for the gym challenge and a trip to the museum afterwards.

She was tempted to go back to sleep; unlike the two of her friends, she resented having to wake up early even if it was for a good reason. She simply was not a morning person and probably never would be. It took a lot just to drag her out of bed most days. The only reason she got up early when they were still in Viridian City was because Syaoron was kind enough to run and get them all a cup of coffee to get them going.

But today she didn't think she was going to be that lucky. _'Might as well get a move on. There's no point in sitting around in bed moping about it. Gotta suck it up and deal with it. It's all part of being a trainer.'_

She pulled out a pair of shorts and a fresh shirt for the day, yawning and stretching. _'Besides, the other two can't be too thrilled about waking up this early either. Well, maybe Syaoron would. He always was the one who'd wake up before either me or Alex, even when we were little kids. I don't know how he does it.'_

She got changed in a hurry, tossing her dirty clothes away and tying her hair up into a neat ponytail with a white hair tie. The blonde heard the annoyed groan of Alex next door as his own alarm went off and she couldn't help but laugh. "Rise and shine, Alex. We got a heck of a day ahead of us."

"You don't bloody say," he grumbled in response. "There better be a nice hot cup of tea waiting for me by the time I get finished getting dressed, otherwise I'm going to be a little miffed."

"Quit your complaining," Syaoron said in response. "Kettle's already on the stove and the water's boiling as we speak. I was up before you."

"That's because you're a bloody lunatic."

"Pot calling the kettle black much?"

"Boys, please stop." Alana rolled her eyes and opened up the door to her room with an exasperated sigh. "It's way too early in the morning for this nonsense. Syao, do you have anything in mind for breakfast or no?" _'I'll be very surprised if he doesn't. He seemingly never stops thinking about possible new recipes for us to try.'_ She liked that about the brunet.

"I was thinking of taking a stroll down into the market and seeing what kind of fresh produce I could get my hands on," he replied. "You never know what you're going to find and I'm betting I could easily whip something up if I have a good look."

"Alright then, we better get moving then. No point in us sitting around twiddling our thumbs." Alana shrugged and met both boys, rubbing away some of the exhaustion from her eyes. The two males were already dressed themselves and Syaoron pulled on his hat.

"So, are we ready to get a move on?" she asked with as much fake optimism as she could muster. If there was one thing she hated more than anything, it was early mornings. She'd much rather be asleep this time of the day. For her, the day didn't start until at least ten in the morning most days.

"Yep. So, what do you think we should do first? Train or go grab something to eat? I'm bloody starving," Alex said with an affectionate pat of his stomach as it growled in agreement. The blond boy smiled as the shrill whistle of a kettle sounded from the kitchen and he started to walk over to it. "Ah, water's done boiling. Perfect. Now I can have my tea."

Alana watched him go and she looked at Syaoron. The brunet was still pulling his shirt on over his head, and she couldn't help but admire the hints of muscle tone that had developed over the years. In the time she had been friends with the usually quiet teen, she had never really taken notice of just how handsome he really was. His hair fell into his dark eyes in a way that would make most girls swoon at the mere sight of him and he was pleasant to be around once people got used to his normally reserved nature.

' _Why am I thinking about that all of a sudden? He's one of my best friends.'_ She dismissed that thought as soon as it crossed her mind. She never thought of Syaoron in that kind of light before. Sure he was rather easy on the eyes, but he was still one of her best friends. _'That's so weird to think about him that way. I mean, sure, Alex is good looking too, but I don't really look at him like that.'_

' _Or do I?'_

' _Ugh. Shut up.'_

Alana sometimes really did not like her thought process at times. The blonde trainer sighed and picked up the belt containing her pokéballs, looping it through the loops of her shorts. With her pokémon secured she hurried out the door, ignoring Syaoron's quizzical stare and praying to the Mirages that he didn't notice her blush.

On the first floor of the pokémon center it was much quieter than it was the previous day. Part of the reason for the lack of commotion, she suspected, was because no one else wanted to get up at this hour to go train their pokémon. Only a few other trainers were in the lobby and they all gave her a weary nod of greeting.

' _Could definitely use a cup of coffee to get me going.'_ Alana approached a coffee pot set aside in the corner of the lobby and poured herself a cup, mixing in a splash of milk and two sugars. Just the smell of the brew was enough to start waking her up more thoroughly and she savored the first sip. She winced as the burning hot liquid scalded her tongue, but she pushed through regardless and took another sip.

"Needed a bit of a 'pick-me-up' this morning, eh?" Alex asked with a grin. He was holding a travel cup in his hands no doubt filled with tea and he ran a hand through his blond hair. "Blimey, there's barely anyone else up and about. I'd have figured at least a few more people would want to get a doughnut and coffee or something."

"Eh, not really." Alana was beginning to shrug off some of her weariness and she rubbed her eyes. "Early in the season and people like sleeping in a little bit. It's a Friday, after all. We all remember how difficult it was to drag your ass out of bed on a weekend. Couldn't make you budge at all unless we bribed you with sweets."

"Hey, hey. I wasn't that bad, now."

"Uh, yes you were. Syao literally went into your room and dragged you out of bed himself one day because we were supposed to have a football match with David, Mariah, and Lily in five minutes and you decided to oversleep for the umpteenth time that week."

"I object!"

"Overruled." Alana tried not to laugh at Alex's groan. "And before you ask why, it's because I said so."

Syaoron joined them with his hat already on his head and he smirked when he came downstairs to see Alana laughing and Alex groaning with his head in his hands. "What did you do this time? Remind him of some of the good old days?"

"You could say that." Alana tried to not steal a glance at the way his shirt clung a little to his chest and upper arms. She was thankful when Syaoron went off to grab a cup of coffee and Alex started talking to her again.

"So, what kind of training did you have in mind for today?" Alex asked, drumming his fingers on the table they were all seated at. "Battle some wild pokémon or spar with each other?"

"A few quick sparring matches sounds good to me, I guess." Alana shrugged. "Grab a bite to eat first?"

"Yeah." Alex patted his stomach as it growled in agreement. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired." The blonde let out a yawn and stretched her arms out above her head. "I feel as though I didn't sleep a wink last night."

"Same here." Alex rubbed his eyes and took another swig of tea. "A battle or two will wake us up, I bet. After breakfast, of course."

"Ask and you shall receive." Syaoron came back with a cup of coffee and a small brown paper bag in hand, tossing it onto the table with a lazy flick of his wrist. "Got us a few bagels. Enough to keep us going. Can't go too crazy with our money. As much as I would have loved to, can't really afford to go out into the markets for another week or so."

"Ugh, tell me about it." Alex opened the bag and pulled out a bagel wrapped in thin paper. "I don't get paid again until next month. Unless I start taking pictures for a local magazine or something."

"That might actually be a good idea," Syaoron said, stroking his chin. He hadn't even touched his own food yet. "After we go take on the gym, we can go around and see if there's anything to be done. Never know; a pokémon might be causing chaos in the city."

The three ate their breakfast in a hurry and stood up from their table to throw away their garbage into a nearby bin. Alex stretched out and gave them a grin. "So, now that we're done, let's get going. Bet I can take you."

"Oh, it is so on," Alana said with a smirk. "Don't go easy on me."

"You got it."

Syaoron sighed and blew a few loose strands of hair out of his eyes, taking another sip of coffee. "Come on. We don't have all day."

They walked out of the pokémon center and were greeted by a brisk wind. The breeze felt fantastic compared to the heat of the previous day and Alana began to whistle a jovial tune as they headed down to the fields just outside the city for some sparring to get ready for the gym challenge.

"Nice tune," Alex murmured, folding his arms behind his head. "I don't think I heard that one. What's it called?"

"It's called The Sight of Spira," Alana answered. "My mother taught me it. And really? I haven't whistled that one around you guys?"

"Not that I can remember." Syaoron shrugged. "You do have a lot of different songs you like to whistle to. It isn't that farfetched to think that there's one we haven't heard yet." He tilted the brim of his hat with a thoughtful hum. "But I agree. It is nice."

Alana took that as a sign to continue whistling along and after a few minutes they reached a nice grassy clearing away from the main road into the city. A few trees grew on the edge of it and Alex took up a position on the other side.

"Alright, who wants to go first?" he asked.

"Well, if I remember correctly, you were the one talking smack and saying you could take me." Alana smirked and reached for one of the pokéballs on her belt. "So, you and me have a date."

"Can you let me be a gentleman and buy dinner first?"

"Laugh it up while you can. I'm not gonna go easy on you, I hope you know."

"Please. I'd feel disappointed if you did." Alex winked and tossed out a pokéball to start the battle, Syaoron standing on the sides to act as referee. "Go!"

A beam of red light turned into his spearow and the normal-flying type let out a caw of determination, landing on his shoulder.

"Spearow, huh? Well, okay then." Alana selected the pokémon she figured would give her the best chance at winning, letting it out onto the field. "Show him what you can do!"

Nidoran appeared in a flash, his large ears twitching. It would be his first battle but Alana had faith that he would do more than fine. He reared up on his squat hind legs and snorted, looking much more confident once the blonde sent him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. You'll do just fine."

Nidoran faced his opponent, puffing himself up with confidence.

"Alright, start off with Leer, then go in with a Peck!" Alex ordered.

"Brace! Use Focus Energy!" Alana yelled.

Spearow gave the poison pokémon a dirty look to lower its defenses before rushing in, its beak glinting with power. Nidoran took a deep breath and exhaled, fully extending his barbs. The sharp poisonous spikes jutted out from his small dark purple body and just in time.

Spearow's attack hit him and the normal-flying type started to look sickly after he flew back to Alex's shoulder. Nidoran's Poison Point ability had affected him, just like Alana had planned on. Spearow could only use physical attacks against the poison type. _'All according to plan. He handled that hit well.'_

"Good work. Now follow up with Peck!" Alana cried out. Nidoran scuffed the ground for a bit before leaping with a determined growl, its sharp horn glinting with power. The attack struck true and Spearow crashed to the ground in a heap of feathers with a pained squawk.

Spearow struggled to his feet, eyes blazing with pained defiance. However before it could attack it fell forward with a sick moan of pain, the poison from Nidoran's horn taking enough of his energy.

"Dammit. That was a good strategy," Alex said with a grumble. "Think I've only got one counter for that." He recalled his spearow and sent out Bulbasaur. The grass-poison type wouldn't be affected by Nidoran's Poison Point ability and could take more than a few of his Peck attacks thanks to its durability.

This would not be an easy battle for her to win.

Alana glanced at Nidoran to see how he was faring. A few scrapes and bruises dotted his purple hide thanks to Spearow's attack but for the most part he looked fit for another battle. His clawed feet scraped the ground eagerly as he stared down his opponent, large ears billowing behind him.

' _I'll let him fight as long as he needs to. No need to be hasty in changing what's working.'_ With her mind made up she decided to keep him in until he did not have the energy to fight anymore. Nidoran were known for being very durable in battles and icy determination to win until they simply couldn't fight anymore. It was borderline reckless.

"Alright, this is going to be tough," Alex remarked. "But hey, a trainer doesn't ever give up, am I right?"

"Right you are." Alana grinned. "Think you can make a comeback?"

"Not a fan of tooting my own horn. But I probably could if I play it right." Alex smirked and flipped some of his hair out of his face. "Kinda want to see what I need to work on before I try and take on the gym challenge."

"Think you can handle it?" Alana asked.

"Maybe. Leader uses rock type pokémon so I do have an advantage. But I can't let a type advantage get to my head. Have to play it smart," the blond answered. "Now, use Growl!"

The small pokémon growled cutely, giving her nidoran an adorable look. The poison type faltered a little bit, not wanting to harm such an adorable creature. Alana let out an inward groan. It was just like Alex to play that way. _'Of course. He would prefer to use a passive move like that to start a battle.'_

It did make the battle a little more interesting. With less attack power at her disposal she couldn't just rely on Nidoran's strength. She had to play a little more defensive.

"Focus Energy!" she yelled. "Try and focus!"

Nidoran snorted in return and took a deep breath, relaxing his muscles and attempting to regain his earlier composure. The Growl attack used by Bulbasaur had disrupted that perfectly and now Alana needed him to get back into the groove of things.

While Nidoran was bracing itself Alex made his move. "Now, hit with Tackle!"

"Brace!" Alana hoped her command was able to be heard over the sound of the grass-poison type charging. Nidoran's ears perked up and he opened his eyes only to be completely bowled over. He fell in a heap, dust rising from the ground, but he shook himself off and scuffed the ground with a growl. His Poison Point ability wouldn't do a thing to a pokémon that was also a poison type.

' _Alright, think! Should I go with Peck again even though his overall power has dropped? Or do I switch out for Charmander?'_ Alana hesitated for only a moment to think, but that momentary hesitation was enough for Alex to land a crushing blow.

"Good work! Follow up with Leech Seed!" He pressed his advantage. Several spores shot out of the bulb on Bulbasaur's back and landed on Nidoran, who tried in vain to scratch the sticky spores off. However it did nothing but rob him of more energy and the poison type started to wobble before flopping over on his side with a loud grunt. He was finished.

"You put up a good fight. Good work." Alana raised her pokéball up and recalled her tired pokémon before tossing out her current heavy hitter. Charmander had enough power to finish the battle before Bulbasaur could whittle away with Leech Seed. "You're up, Charmander!"

The small fire type appeared in a flash of red light and upon entering the battlefield began to swing its tail around, heating up the area. Both trainers began to sweat and Alana blinked back as a few drops of the salty liquid landed in her eyes. _'Dammit. This is going to be harder.'_

Alana wiped her face before giving Charmander an order. "Ember! Hit it hard as fast as you can!"

"Brace!" Alex tried to tell his own pokémon.

Charmander blew out a stream of fire from his mouth, small jaws parting wide. The gust of flames scorched Bulbasaur and she let out a weak cry of pain as the attack burned her. Angry red welts began to appear on her dotted skin and she looked like she was having a hard time standing.

Charmander stepped forward, ready to dish out another Ember attack, but Alana put her hand up. "No. No more. It's just training, calm down."

Alex recalled his pokémon, looking at his bulbasaur's pokéball with worry. "We should run to the pokémon center. Those are some pretty nasty burns."

Alana winced. "Sorry about that. I didn't mean to do that."

"Don't worry about it." Alex gave her a friendly smile. "We were training and things like this happen. Let's just get our pokémon rested up so we can hit the gym and take on the challenge."

"Syao, do you want a warm up or no?" Alana asked.

"Nah. I'm good." The quiet teen shook his head.

"Alright then, to the pokémon center we go and then the gym." With that decided the three of them started to walk back into Pewter City, passing by a few stands and food stalls that were up and running. The smell of various cooked meats and fish wafted towards them and Alana found it hard to resist running up and spending a bunch of money.

' _As tempting as it is, we have to be careful with what we spend our money on. We don't exactly have a surplus of it right now, even with that job Alex and I did for that pokémon ranger.'_ Alana turned her head away from the stalls and entered the pokémon center, waiting in line behind Alex.

He approached the cheerful young woman behind the counter with a smile on his face, placing his two pokéballs on the counter as well as his trainer card. "Full Restore, please."

"Coming right up," she chirped. She placed them in the healing unit, looking at his pokémon. "Going to be taking on the gym challenge?"

"Yep. All three of us are," Alex answered, pointing to Alana and Syaoron. "Hopefully we can compete against each other at the end of the season."

"Well I wish you best of luck for when you go up against Brock," the nurse replied. "He's a tough trainer to go up against for most that just start out."

"Thanks. We'll keep that in mind." The blond grinned and Alana handed the nurse her own pokémon to get healed.

"Same thing as him. And here's my card." Alana placed her card down to verify her trainer status. The nurse healed her pokémon within seconds and she handed them back with the same smile.

"Thank you for your custom. Please visit us again soon!" she said cheerfully.

"Thanks. Will do." Alana led them out of the pokémon center and she pointed up towards the gym. It was built up on a hill and had a large orange roof, with a sign outside that read, 'Pokémon Gym'.

Syaoron tilted his hat up and whistled softly. "Well…this is it, I guess. Who wants to go first?"

"I'll go," Alex volunteered. "I've wanted to test myself even though I haven't won against you two yet. A gym battle will show what I need to work on with my team even more."

"Alright then." Syaoron nodded. "We'll be in the spectator stands. Good luck."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." The blond grinned and stepped in.

"Well, here goes nothing."

* * *

Alex whistled as he looked around the pokémon gym, his hands behind his head. "Wow. This is certainly intimidating, to say the least." Large rocky spires adorned the floor and he had to watch his footing thanks to the gravel that was sprinkled on the ground. _'Well, it is a rock type gym after all. Should have expected that.'_

Standing at the opposite end of the arena was a young shirtless man with spiky dark hair and his muscular arms folded across his bare chest. He gave Alex a friendly smile and stuck his hand out for greeting. "I'm the gym leader, Brock. Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"Alex." He shook his hand.

"Well, you're my first challenger for the day, huh? I won't go easy on you." Brock grinned.

"I was hoping you'd say that. Could use a good fight to end the day."

"Alright then." Brock looked over at a man standing with a white and black striped shirt and gave him a nod. "Let's begin."

"Ladies and gentleman, this will be a battle between Pewter City's own gym leader, Brock, and Alex Stewart, a trainer from Pallet Town!" the referee announced. "The first trainer to successfully knock out the opposition's pokémon is the winner! Trainers, are you ready!?"

Brock and Alex both nodded.

"Alright, begin!"

Alex reached for his pokémon to start off a battle and threw it out. "Caterpie!"

"Geodude!"

Both pokémon appeared in flashes of red light and Brock looked at the blond in confusion, surprised by his choice. "Either you're planning something, or you're inexperienced. Go, Defense Curl!"

"String Shot!" Alex did have an idea what he was going to do. He knew he couldn't beat Brock with brute force. Rock type pokémon were known for being very sturdy and durable, able to take tremendous physical punishment thanks to their hard skin. He had to defeat them with surgical precision of a scalpel and that meant using strategy.

Slowing Brock's pokémon down was his initial plan.

Geodude became covered in sticky white string and it let out confused grumbles as it tried to pry its hands apart from the web.

"Good. Now, switch it up! Bulbasaur, go!" Alex recalled his bug type and tossed out Bulbasaur. He knew Geodude wouldn't be able to move for awhile thanks to being trapped in silk.

"Ah, I see what you were up to. Good mind for strategy, kiddo," Brock conceded. "Didn't expect that. Alright, hit it with a Tackle!"

Geodude managed to fling itself at Alex's pokémon, but Bulbasaur was able to easily absorb the blow. The bulb on her back quivered and Alex nodded. "Leech Seed!"

Bulbasaur fired a bunch of spores out of the bulb and stuck onto the geodude, slowly whittling away its health. Alex noticed that the spores glowed a bright green whenever they were absorbing energy and pressed on his advantage. "Good! Now hit it with Vine Whip!"

Bulbasaur's vines snapped out of her bulb and she whipped the geodude with two quick strikes. Geodude crashed into the ground, dust rising from the impact, and it struggled to keep floating. However, the earlier Leech Seed attack took the last bit of its energy and it fell forward on its face.

"Geodude has no energy left to battle!" the referee said. "Bulbasaur is the winner!"

"Not bad, kid. But you're far from beating me!" Brock recalled his fainted pokémon. "Go, Onix!"

A massive rock snake appeared in a flash of red light and it let out a challenging roar. Alex's eyes widened at the sheer size of it and he backed up a little. "Woah…that…that is not what I was expecting." _'Bloody hell. The damn thing is enormous! How am I supposed to take that down!?'_

One hit could easily crush his bulbasaur and force him to lose the battle if he wasn't careful. _'Be strategic. Use its size advantage against it and whittle it down.'_ He glanced at Bulbasaur and gave her a smile in an attempt to keep her composed. "Don't worry. We've got this. We're a heck of a team, you and me."

"Now, let's end this battle! Start off with Growl and follow up with Leech Seed!" he yelled.

"Rock Tomb!" Brock ordered.

' _What the hell is that?'_ Alex didn't have time to ponder that as the onix thrashed its tail and caused four heavy boulders to fall from the ceiling. They completely encased Bulbasaur and she struggled to break free of her rocky prison. Several large cuts and scrapes dotted her body and she let out pained winces she struggled to get out of the tomb.

' _Dammit, that attack did much more damage than I thought.'_ "Are you alright?" he asked.

Bulbasaur gave him a nod, wincing in pain.

"Alright, hold it together, girl," Alex encouraged. "We can do this. You believe in me, right?"

Another nod, though this time with more pride.

"Okay, then let's show him what we can do! Leech Seed, now!"

Bulbasaur fired a bunch of sticky green spores out of her bulb to seed Onix, sapping away a little of its power and reinvigorating herself. The rock-ground type pokémon may have been stronger and larger, but she had the agility advantage. _'If we can weaken its attack power, we may turn the tide before it is too late.'_

The spores glowed a bright green and Onix started to falter. It didn't move with the same intense energy as it did previously and Brock frowned. "Snap out of it! Go in for a Bind attack!"

"Quick, use Growl and try and evade it!" Alex countered.

Bulbasaur let out a series of cute growls and the third one stopped the onix in its tracks. It tilted its head in confusion and grumbled, unsure whether to attack or not.

' _Now!'_ "Hit it with a pair of Vine Whips!" Alex pressed on and Bulbasaur whacked Onix's hard rocky body with two lightning fast whips. The first two hit on its long serpentine body and the last two hit its face with enough force to slam it into the ground with a groan.

It coiled itself into a more defensive position, bellowing out angrily, but the spores on its body took their toll and it collapsed in a heap of dust, making the entire arena shake.

"Onix is no longer able to battle!" the referee announced in excitement. "The gym leader has no more pokémon able to battle and the winner is Alex!"

' _We did it. We actually beat a gym leader,'_ the blond teen realized, turning to the crowd watching and pumping his fist in the air to celebrate his victory. "Yeah!"

Bulbasaur leapt up and clung onto his chest, looking up at him with happy red eyes, and he patted her head. "We did it, girl. We really pulled it off."

Brock approached him with a smile, recalling his weakened onix. "Good job. You've got real potential. I like that. As proof of victory over me, I present to you the official Boulder Badge. You're on the road to fortune."

"Thank you." Alex put the badge in his travel case. "And good fight."

"Any time. Are your friends taking on the challenge too?"

"You bet, mate."

"That's what I like to hear. Best of luck."

Alex turned around, still feeling his heart thump in his chest as he exited the arena. The adrenaline rush of the battle was finally wearing off and he looked at the new gym badge in his travel case.

"Well…one down. Hope Syao and Alana don't have too much of a trouble with him."

Their goal to reach the Indigo Plateau was only just beginning.

 _ **A/N: And that's a wrap for this one. Originally, I had all three of them taking on the gym, but then I realized what my word count was and completely scrapped it to save for the next chapter. It was fun doing a gym battle from one of our protagonists' point of few and the reason why I chose to go with Alex first was merely a random draw from the hat. Hopefully the next one comes out sooner xD**_

 _ **C. Strife#5371**_


	6. The Flames of Battle

_**A/N: Hello all and here is chapter six. I do apologize for my slight delay; I've had a lot of personal issues recently and it's affected me as a whole. My writing has been a victim of it too, but here we are.**_

 **Slow Burning Lights**

 _Summary: Ever since she was a little girl listening to her father tell his stories, Alana dreamt of becoming a pokémon trainer. Now, alongside her two closest friends Syaoron and Alex, that dream of hers becomes reality._

 ***The Flames of Battle***

Alana was amazed at the battle Alex had just won. It was their first glimpse of the gym challenge that awaited them on their road to the Indigo Plateau and the blonde couldn't help but feel incredibly nervous. Even though Alex held a type advantage it was still a very close battle. Gym leaders were more than just normal trainers; they were tough.

"Good fight," Syaoron remarked. "He played it smart and got the win."

"Yeah, he did." Alana nodded. _'When that onix came into the fold, I wasn't sure if Alex could do it. Then again, he's always had the odds against him since we were kids. He relishes in those kinds of challenges.'_

"Nervous?" Syaoron asked.

"A bit," the blonde admitted. "Seeing how close that battle was even though he had a type advantage is making me have second thoughts about taking Brock on right now. I don't think my charmander is going to have much of a chance against that onix." She had of course looked at the pokédex entry for the giant rock snake pokémon during the battle and saw that it was very difficult to go up against due to its massive size and incredible endurance. Its rocky skin could easily resist Charmander's flames and the Rock Tomb attack she witnessed would wreak havoc on the fire type. _'How the heck am I supposed to have a chance? Obviously I won't win with brute force.'_

' _Nidoran, perhaps?'_ The small poison type had learned a fighting type move and she knew that fighting types were strong against rock. But she didn't see Nidoran having the endurance to last if the battle got dragged out, nor could she see it doing enough significant damage to weaken the onix for Charmander to finish it in time.

' _Rattata won't have a chance. Unless…'_ She thought of something. It was risky, but it would have to be a full team effort to win. Once Brock's geodude was dealt with and the onix was in play, she could lessen the odds against her if she attacked indirectly. _'Got it! Have Rattata use Tail Whip, let Charmander use Growl, and then Nidoran can hit it harder with Double Kick. Question is, will it work?'_

It had to. Otherwise, she was not going to be able to follow in her father's footsteps. But even as she pondered that, Syaoron put a hand on her shoulder and stood up. "I'll go first if you want to."

"No." Alana shook her head. "I have to do this." _'My father always said I was stubborn and refused to give up. Time to show it.'_

"Don't push yourself too hard," Syaoron warned.

"What do you mean?" The blonde tilted her head to the side.

Syaoron sighed and sat back down next to her. "Alana, I'm not dumb. I know why you wanted to go on this journey with us. You want to prove yourself to your father that you can follow in his footsteps. But he was what many would consider a once in a lifetime type of trainer. Undefeated and one who has bonded very strongly with his pokémon. It's unrealistic to try and be that."

"So are you saying I should just give up?" Alana hissed, hurt by his words. She never thought he of all people would say that.

"You misunderstand." Syaoron shook his head and took her hand in his own. "What I'm saying is that you should be the person _you_ want to be. Not someone else. You are you, just as Siegfried is himself." He let out a soft breath before letting her hand go. "The three of us all have something we will be good at. I think Alex has already found it. Now it's just us two who have to discover it."

Alana let out a sigh and stood up from her seat, thinking about his words. He was right; she couldn't be exactly like her father. He was a generational trainer and considered a master. Alana wanted to be that next one, but Syaoron's words hit the hard truth that she didn't want to hear.

' _I guess he means I should be the best I can be and be content with it.'_ She brushed her hair out of her face and proceeded out of the stands to register herself for the battle. _'I think I can do this.'_

She pushed her way through the crowd of excited onlookers and walked over to the receptionist desk. The same woman who registered Alex earlier was still behind the counter and she looked up from her computer. "Are you going to enter?"

"Yes." Alana nodded and handed her her trainer card. _'I want to see if I can actually do this. I know I can't be exactly like my father. But I don't want to disappoint him.'_ Her hands shook and she clenched them into trembling fists. _'No. I won't disappoint him. I'll make sure he can say he's proud of me.'_

"Wait just a minute, okay?" The woman gave a friendly smile and typed away on her keyboard. A soft pinging noise came from the computer and she faced the blonde, handing the trainer card back. "There you are. You are registered for the Kanto League. I wish you the best of luck!"

"Thanks." Alana pocketed her card and went through the doorway, steeling herself for the battle ahead. She could hear the roar of the audience as they eagerly took their seats to witness the second gym battle for the day and her hands trembled.

For a moment she considered going back and withdrawing from the competition. However she stopped herself, shaking her head. _'No. I couldn't face Syaoron or Alex if they learned I had done that. Even if we're good friends I don't want them to think less of me. Besides, Father always said I should never back down from a challenge, no matter how big it may be. At least try your best, so even you lose, you can be proud of yourself.'_

She took a deep breath to steady her nerves and entered the arena. Brock was standing on the other side of it, his muscular arms folded across his bare chest. "Hello. You must be a challenger. I'm Brock."

"Alana." She figured it would be polite to at least introduce herself.

Brock looked at the referee watching the battle and the uniformed man cleared his throat before speaking into a megaphone. "This is a sanctioned battle between Pewter City's gym leader, Brock, and his challenger, Alana Ehler from Pallet Town! The battle will continue until either the challenger's or the gym leader's pokémon are all fainted! Trainers, are you ready!?"

Alana nodded and reached for Rattata's pokéball. "Yes."

"BEGIN!" the referee bellowed.

"Geodude!"

"Rattata!"

Both pokémon appeared in flashes of red light. The battle was officially underway.

"Rattata, go for a Tail Whip!" Alana yelled. _'Have to lower its defenses. Otherwise, Nidoran will be too weak to battle that onix after.'_

"Rock Throw!" Brock ordered.

Geodude picked up a small rock with one of its beefy arms and chucked it hard. Rattata got hit by the attack, falling over on its side with a pained cry. It had gotten off a Tail Whip, but the damage had been done.

' _This is much harder than I thought it would be,'_ Alana realized. _'I've got to keep mobile. Rock types are typically very slow. I can use that to my advantage.'_ "Rattata, pick yourself up! Keep moving; try to go in a circle!"

She knew she couldn't inflict damage directly; Quick Attack and Tackle would do nothing to Geodude's tough rocky skin, even if she lowered its defenses enough to take it out with Nidoran's Double Kick.

The small normal type pokémon got back to its feet, baring its large front teeth in a defiant snarl. It leapt over a Tackle attack from Geodude, continuing to wag its tail to lower its defenses. _'Good, everything's going just as I hoped! Maybe I can pull it off!'_

"Rattata, return!" She recalled her pokémon and switched for Nidoran. "Nidoran, go! Hit it with Double Kick!"

The small poison type' large ears flared briefly before it leapt to meet the geodude in midair. Its powerful hind legs kicked up, striking the rock-ground pokémon directly in the face. It tumbled to the ground with a groan and uses its arms to try and push itself back up. However it had too little energy from that attack to fight and fell to the arena floor.

"Not a bad strategy, I must admit," Brock conceded, recalling his fainted pokémon. "However, I don't think that strategy will work for you again. Go, Onix!"

The massive rock snake appeared, bellowing out a challenge. Its large tail thrashed and the entire arena shook, the blonde struggling to keep her balance. _'It's powerful. Very powerful. Brute force isn't going to work, even with a fighting type move. It's just too big!'_

She looked at Nidoran. The small poison pokémon didn't have any bruises or scrapes on his hide yet and he refused to back down from the challenge in front of him. _'Brock is going to go for a Rock Tomb attack, if the battle with Alex is anything to go by. Mobility is going to the deciding factor.'_

"Nidoran, use Leer!" she said, raising her voice over the roaring of the onix. "Try and keep yourself moving!"

"Trap it! Rock Tomb!" Brock ordered. Onix thrashed its tail again and roared, bringing down a hail of large boulders to trap Nidoran in a rocky prison. Most of the boulders missed, but one of them hit Nidoran's flank. It fell on its side and struggled to get to its feet, a large bruise forming where it was hit.

"Nidoran!" Alana reached out but stopped herself. _'I can't hesitate. Otherwise I'll lose. I'm not losing here!'_ She looked away for a moment and regained control of her nerves. She had to keep calm, even though her pokémon had taken a blow. She was lucky it was only a glancing blow; she didn't think Nidoran could tank a direct hit from that attack. _'These things happen in pokémon battles. Remember that.'_

With her nerves under control she glanced at Nidoran to see how he was faring. His eyes met hers for a moment and they both nodded in understanding. He may have been winded from Onix's attack, but he was far from finished.

"Go for a Double Kick!" she yelled. _'He's trying to keep Nidoran at a distance because of the type matchup. He knows that Onix's size is more of a disadvantage up close.'_

"Tackle!" Brock countered.

Nidoran leapt over Onix's tail and gave it two hard kicks in the jaw. The rock snake roared in pain and shook its large head in pained defiance. It glared briefly at the blonde and sprung, using its tail for leverage. Its head collided with Nidoran's body and he let out a cry as he tumbled to the ground. Nidoran landed in a heap of dust and Alana winced.

That attack had been enough to knock the poison type unconscious, but she could spot a poisonous barb stuck in the onix's body. _'Of course! Nidoran has the Poison Point ability! He was gambling on that taking effect; that's why he didn't dodge it!'_

Pokémon were very smart; much smarter than a person typically gave them credit for. Alana was beginning to understand that now. The more she stayed with them, the more she'd learn from them. _'Very clever. Your gamble paid off.'_

"Good work! Return!" The blonde recalled her fainted pokémon and reached for the third ball on her belt. _'Time to finish it with Charmander. I hope that Onix is weakened enough for an Ember to end the battle.'_

Alana threw out her first ever pokémon, hoping this battle could be finished right now. "Charmander!" The fire lizard appeared in a flash of red light, his tail blazing with a bright flame. "Go! Ember!"

Rock types may have been resilient to fire attacks. But she was betting on the onix being too weak to be able to tank the fires. If luck was on her side she'd definitely be able to pull it off, even if she had a type disadvantage.

The more nimble fire pokémon ducked under a desperate swing of Onix's tail and blasted it in the face with an Ember attack. The flames didn't do as much damage as she thought they would; the onix coiled itself into a ball to block them out, glaring at the charmander. Onix roared and went to lash out with its tail but the poison was taking its effect on the rock snake.

It raised its head in pained defiance, still bellowing, but its head crashed into the ground. A layer of dust rose from the impact and Alana shielded her eyes. When she opened them again she saw Charmander was still up and energetic. It bounded over to her and leapt in the air for a hug, the blonde falling on her back with a surprised squawk. "Ack! Charmander!"

Charmander let out a happy noise and nuzzled into her chest. Alana smiled and patted his head a few times before getting back to her feet. "We did it. We really did it." _'My first ever gym battle and I won. This feeling…it's remarkable.'_

"The gym leader has no more pokémon to battle; Alana is the winner!" the referee declared. "Congratulations!"

Alana lifted her head and saw Brock approaching her. "You're good. Very good. As proof of your victory over me, I hereby present you with the Boulder Badge. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Alana bowed her head graciously putting the badge in her trainer case. The adrenaline was finally starting to wear off and she glanced up into the stands where Alex and Syaoron were watching. Alex was clapping his hands with the biggest grin on his face, whistling out, and Syaoron gave her a nod of approval. She had done it.

There was still a long road ahead of all of them, but she wanted to bask in this moment for a little while longer. _'I may not be able to be exactly like my father, but I think I can live with being the best I can be. Thank you Syao.'_

* * *

Syaoron let out a hum as he watched Alana accept the Boulder Badge from Brock. _'You did as well as I expected you to. I didn't doubt you for a second. Always knew you had a burning desire to prove yourself, but even if you didn't take part in the challenge, we wouldn't have thought any less of you.'_

He tipped the brim of his hat down a little and smiled to himself. _'That's the Alana I know. Refusing to give up no matter what stood in her path. Resilient and too stubborn to back down.'_

"Bloody hell, that was something else." Alex was still applauding the blonde's performance. "Even with a massive type disadvantage she still turned it into her favor. Risky but it worked."

Syaoron shrugged his shoulders. "I expected nothing less from her. Alana hated running away from a challenge, even when we were kids. The little pep talk I gave her gave her the motivation to win the battle."

"Oh?" Alex's eyebrow rose. "What did you tell her?"

Syaoron leaned back in his chair casually. "I told her she should focus on being the best _she_ should be and not try to be exactly like her father."

"You said that?" the blond asked. "Why?"

Syaoron let out a snort. "Come on, you and I both know the reason why Alana wanted to set off with us on this journey. She wanted to be like Siegfried, even though trying to be exactly like him is unrealistic. I doubt any trainer is going to be able to replicate his feats. Five consecutive victories in the Kanto League are impossible to do in this day and age. We know that."

Alex hummed and ran a hand through his hair. "So you told her to not try that?"

"You misunderstand me." Syaoron shook his head. "If she tried to do that and failed, which inevitably would have happened, she'd be devastated. She'd probably quit being a trainer all together. By saying what I did, I helped take her mind off of trying to do the impossible and reset her focus onto being the best she can be so _she_ can be happy, regardless of win or lose."

"Hmm." Alex looked at the arena, where Brock was once again restoring his pokémon back to full health in the event another trainer would challenge him today. "Are you going to take on the challenge or no?"

"Yeah," the brunet answered quietly. _'I know being a trainer isn't the end all be all for me. Hell, probably for all of us. Alex probably already found it, even if he doesn't know. Alana, definitely not, but that's okay. Going on a journey like this will be a growing experience for us.'_

"Well then. Good luck. Brock isn't easy to go against."

"I worked that out on my own, funnily enough."

"Cheeky bugger." Alex laughed. "Play it smart and you'll be fine."

Syaoron stood up and cracked his neck, flexing his fingers to limber himself up. _'Well here goes nothing I suppose.'_

He left the stands, bumping into Alana on the way down. She looked exhausted from the battle, but her dark blue eyes still had that determined fire burning in them. "Hey Syao. You're going, too?"

"Yeah." He gave a simple shrug. "Feel like it would be a good test." _'And maybe it'll shed some light on what I want to do. Sure it would be nice to perhaps compete in the championship match at the end of the season, but I don't see myself as making a career out of it. Hopefully this battle will let me see what I want to do.'_

"Okay. Good luck then. I'll be watching in the stands with Alex," the blonde said. "See you there!"

Syaoron watched her go and he tilted his hat down, closing his eyes for a moment. _'Two of us have gone through the first pokémon gym. Now it's down to me. I already know I have an advantage thanks to having a water type. But getting cocky is one surefire way to lose. No, better to keep myself calm and composed during more intense battles like these.'_

He had already registered himself for the league tournament in the lobby of the pokémon center earlier in the day, so it was a quick process of showing the league official standing at the door his trainer card.

The man looked it over and gave him a nod. "Go on in. Brock's waiting inside."

Syaoron quietly took his card back and walked into the arena, unfazed by the excited roaring of the crowd at the prospect of a third challenger in a day. Why in the name of the Mirages even a simple gym battle drew so much attention, he didn't know. _'From all the noise, one would think that this is a championship match.'_

He lifted his chin and faced Brock, who stood on the opposite side of the arena. "A third challenger? Today must be my lucky day. The name's Brock. Yours?"

"…Syaoron," the brunet answered quietly.

"Ah, a man of few words?" Brock started to grin. "I always did find that the quiet ones usually had the more interesting stories. Well, let's not waste any more time, shall we?"

The referee blew his whistle to get the crowd's attention and spoke into his megaphone. "The third match of the day will be an official gym battle between Brock, the leader of the Pewter City gym, and Syaoron Miyu, a trainer from Pallet Town! Trainers, are you ready!?"

Both combatants nodded, ready to release their pokémon.

"BEGIN!" the referee yelled.

"Squirtle!"

"Geodude!"

Both pokémon appeared in flashes of red light and startled to circle each other, both sizing the other up. The geodude was bigger than Squirtle was, with muscular rocky arms that matched his trainer.

' _Rock-ground versus water. This battle should already be over just by the type advantage.'_ Syaoron stroked the brim of his hat. _'However, he's a gym leader. A good leader always has the answer to their weakness, be it speed or raw power. If he lands a good hit first, then Squirtle is in trouble. I don't have any moves to use like Alex does to reinvigorate my pokémon's energy. Still, I can use Squirtle's natural defensive nature to my advantage.'_

"Withdraw!" he ordered.

"Hit it with Rock Throw!" Brock called out.

Geodude had picked up some rocks and threw them with all its might at Squirtle. The water pokémon withdrew its extremities into its hard shell, letting the rocks bounce off of it. Squirtle didn't so much as flinch at the attack and poked his head out, looking perhaps a little too smug for Syaoron's liking. _'Careful. Act like you've already won and the ground will be taken from under your feet.'_

"Good work. Now, go for a Tail Whip!" He already bolstered his pokémon's own defense and now it was time to lower his opponent's. He learned earlier on from the sparring matches with Alana and Alex that lowering an opponent's defensive and offensive capabilities gave him an edge and it was a lesson he was fully prepared to utilize. Just from watching their battles against Brock earlier he knew that he couldn't beat a rock type pokémon with a display of brute force. He had to play it smart. Alana's battle was probably the best example of that. She was at a massive disadvantage but she still turned that battle into her favor using Charmander's superior speed and agility. Now it was his time to do that exact thing.

"Counter it! Defense Curl!" Brock commanded. Damn, that plan didn't work out as much as he would've hoped. Brock knew exactly what Syaoron was planning to do and countered it perfectly. As Squirtle wagged his tail in a cute manner, Geodude simply tucked itself into a tight ball, both moves canceling each other out.

' _Alright then. It's clear that strategy isn't going to work. Might as well go in with an offensive attack of my own.'_ Syaoron kept his cool and gave his pokémon a nod. "Bubble."

"Try to evade!" Brock yelled.

Squirtle took in a deep breath and released a stream of bubbles at the rock-ground pokémon. Geodude desperately tried to evade the attacks, but it was far too slow and cumbersome. Each of the bubbles hit their target and Geodude fell onto the ground with a weak groan.

"Geodude has no energy left to battle!" the referee confirmed.

' _One down. But that onix is going to be a handful if it hits Squirtle with Rock Tomb.'_ Syaoron pursed his lips. _'Should I switch it up with Pidgey just to give Squirtle a bit of a breather or is it too big of a risk? They are relatively agile pokémon and with Sand Attack I can lower the onix's accuracy. However, Pidgey can't do anything to harm it. Not yet at least. The matchup is all wrong.'_

He looked at the pokéball containing the normal-flying type pokémon and back at Squirtle. Squirtle still seemed eager to keep pressing on and he hadn't taken much of a hit thanks to him using Withdraw early in the fight. _'No. I'll keep Squirtle in for now. If he gets hit by that Rock Tomb attack, then I'll switch him out with Pidgey to give him a bit of a rest.'_

"Onix!" The massive rock serpent appeared, its large eyes boring into Syaoron's own. The brunet didn't flinch away and held his ground, unfazed by its intimidation attempts. Squirtle stared back defiantly and he couldn't help but smile just a little. _'Even though you're dwarfed in terms of size, you more than make up for it with your heart. Icy calm determination, just like me.'_

"Same strategy as before. Go for Withdraw and follow up with a Tail Whip," he said quietly, brushing loose strands of hair out of his eyes. Squirtle nodded and tucked itself back into its shell, easily absorbing the Tackle attack Brock had thrown at him.

Squirtle's shell slid across the gravel floor of the arena a little, but he revealed himself to look no worse for wear. A few scrapes on his belly shone bright red, but he didn't seem too fazed by it. If anything, it made him even more determined not to give up and he wagged his tail with much more vigor than he did against the geodude. _'I always heard that squirtle were known for being incredibly stubborn. Nice to see that those stories are correct.'_

"Alright, good work. Now go for a Bubble attack." Syaoron tipped his hat down as Onix prepared with Rock Tomb. _'It's too late. You'd need to get extremely lucky to avoid it. Bubble will hit and being a rock-ground type, its effectiveness is much greater. This battle is over.'_

Onix's Rock Tomb attack was cut off short as the bubbles hit their target. It thrashed in pain, roaring out. Syaoron ducked under its tail as it tried to give one last valiant stand. However it was too little too late. Onix's body hit the ground and Brock recalled his fainted pokémon. The battle was over.

"Onix has no energy left to battle! Syaoron is the winner! Ladies and gentlemen, give a round of applause for both combatants!" the referee yelled. Syaoron could hear the audience roaring their approval of having the privilege to witness three consecutive gym challenges and he approached Brock with his hand out.

"Good fight," he said quietly.

"You too, youngster. You remind me a lot of myself back when I first started," Brock remarked. "Always keep your head in the fight and you'll find your pokémon will always fight their hardest, whether they win or lose. When two battle, there will be a loser and a winner. That's how battles always are."

He handed Syaoron the Boulder Badge and he put it in his trainer case for safe storage. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me. Thank your pokémon." Brock grinned. "That squirtle is going to grow into quite an impressive pokémon. I wish you the best of luck for the rest of your league challenge."

Syaoron nodded and turned around, leaving the arena behind. Squirtle had jumped onto his shoulder and he petted his head affectionately. "Thank you. You did really good in that battle."

Squirtle nuzzled into his neck and he smiled. "I know. Even if we didn't win, we could at least leave knowing we did our best, right?" _'Always be calm and composed. Look at the facts but keep an open mind as to possibilities. Hm.'_

He had a lot to think about after his gym challenge. But for now, it was time to enjoy these few moments with his friends.

 _ **A/N: And that's it for this one. I was going to introduce a new rival for this chapter, but I decided against it as it didn't fit. Next up, we're exploring more of Pewter City. One thing that always bugged me about the games is just how terribly tiny they made locations. Like, Pewter City definitely does not just have a few buildings in it. So, I'm going with more RPG-like aspects, such as having the world be massive. Come on, it took us like two chapters just to get through Viridian Forest.**_

 _ **A Lovestruck A2#5371**_


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